IRLF 


SB    3fl    MOD 


MODERN    FILING 


A  Textbook  on  Office  System 


By 

W.  D.  WlGENT, 

Manager  Gregg  School,  Chicago 

BURTON  D.  HOUSEL, 

Instructor  in  Filing,  Rochester  Business  Institute 

E.  HARRY  OILMAN 

Manager  System  Department,  Yaivman  and  Erbe  Mfg.  Co. 


PUBLISHED  BY 

YAWMAN  AND  ERBE  MFG.  CO. 
ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


Copyright  1916  by 
Yawman  and  Erbe  Mfg.  Co.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

All  Rights  Reserved 


INDEX  TO   CHAPTERS 

Page  No. 

INTRODUCTION       .......          .         vii-x 

CHAPTER  I — THE  LOOSE  SHEET  SYSTEM         .          .          .  1-4 

The  System  Defined.  The  Loose  Sheet  Cabinet.  Its  Advantages.  Loose 
Sheet  Transferring.  Questions  on  Chapter  I. 

CHAPTER  II — THE  SHANNON  FILE          ....         5-11 

The  Board  File.  The  Shannon  Cabinet.  How  Papers  are  Filed.  Impor- 
tant Features  Summarized.  Shannon  Transferring.  Questions  on  Chap- 
ter II. 

CHAPTER  III — VERTICAL  FILING  ....       12-16 

Difference  Between  Vertical  and  Shannon.  The  Folder.  The  Guide.  Tabs. 
Metal  Label  Holders.  Questions  on  Chapter  III. 

CHAPTER  IV — METHODS  OF  INDEXING  AND  ALPHABETICAL 

FILING  .          .  17-22 

Alphabetical  Filing.  The  Principle  Applied.  Larger  Alphabetical  Sets. 
Alphabetical  Transferring.  Questions  on  Chapter  IV. 

CHAPTER  V — NUMERICAL  FILING  ....       23-29 

The  Card  Index.  Cross  Refernce  Indexing.  Direct  Number  System.  Dis- 
advantages of  Numerical  System.  Numerical  Transferring.  Questions 
on  Chapter  V. 

CHAPTER  VI — DIRECT  NAME  SYSTEM     ....       30-35 

Value  of  Numerical  Feature.  How  the  Tabs  are  Arranged.  Expansion  Pro- 
vided For.  The  Red  "Out"  Guides.  Direct  Name  Transferring.  Ques- 
tions on  Chapter  VI. 

CHAPTER  VII — GEOGRAPHICAL  FILING  .          .          .       36-42 

Advantages  of  Location  Method.  The  Basis  of  the  System.  A  Second  Me- 
thod. Its  Economic  Features.  How  Letters  are  Filed.  The  Direct  Geo- 
graphical System.  Filing  by  Counties.  Geographical  Transferring. 
Questions  on  Chapter  VII. 

CHAPTER  VIII — SUBJECT  FILING  ....       43-47 

The  Field  of  Subject  Indexing.  The  Methods  of  Indexing.  Subject  Filing 
in  Purchasing  Departments.  How  an  Editor  Uses  Subject  Filing.  The 
Relation  of  Subject  Indexing  to  Alphabetical  Indexing.  Transferring  a 
Subject  File.  Questions  on  Chapter  VIII. 

CHAPTER  IX— FOLLOW-UP  48-52 

Where  Follow-Up  is  Generally  Used.  The  Methods  Employed.  Alphabet- 
ical Follow-Up.  Geographical  Follow-Up.  Subject  Follow-Up.  Other 
Methods.  Questions  on  Chapter  IX. 


3 597 j 4 


iv  INDEX    TO    CHAPTERS 

Page  No. 

CHAPTER  X — COPYING  OUTGOING  PAPERS       .          .          .       53-58 

The  Tissue  Copy  Book  and  Letter  Press.  The  Rapid  Roller  Copier  Method. 
The  Carbon  Paper  Method.  Questions  on  Chapter  X. 

CHAPTER  XI — CARD  RECORD  SYSTEMS  .         .         .       59-65 

The  Development  of  Card  Records.  The  Security  of  Card  Records.  Me- 
thods of  Indexing.  Record  of  Quotations.  Quotations  Given.  Ques- 
tions on  Chapter  XI. 

CHAPTER  XII — INSURANCE,  REAL  ESTATE  AND  FOLLOW-UP 

CARD  SYSTEMS 66-74 

Insurance  Expiration  Records.  Real  Estate  Records.  Card  Follow-Up 
Systems.  Alphabetical  Follow-Up.  Metal  Indicators.  Knowledge  of 
Card  Record  Systems  Important.  Questions  on  Chapter  XII. 

CHAPTER  XIII — DOCUMENT  AND  CHECK  FILING     .         .       75-80 

Document  Filing.  Filing  Documents  Flat.  Check  Filing.  The  Old  Me- 
thod. The  Modern  Way.  Direct  Name  Check  Filing  System.  The 
Commercial  Use.  Questions  on  Chapter  XIII. 

CHAPTER  XIV— THE  CARD  LEDGER       ....       81-94 

Card  Ledger  in  Operation.  Methods  of  Indexing.  The  Safeguard  Card 
Ledger.  Geographical  Card  Ledger.  Numerical  Card  Ledger.  Card 
Ledger  Desks.  Mechanical  Ledger  Posting.  Questions  on  Chapter  XIV. 

CHAPTER  XV — STOCK  RECORD  KEEPING         .         .          .     95-100 

What  a  Stock  Record  Is.  What  a  Stock  Record  Does.  The  Methods  Used. 
Equipment  Used.  Questions  on  Chapter  XV. 


INDEX  TO   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Illustr'ation  No.  Pa2e 

1  Box  File  showing  index    .          .          .     .      . 

2  Loose  Sheet  Cabinet  (Sectional)          .... 

3  Shannon  Board  File          ...  5 

4  Alphabetical  Shannon  Index      .          .  6 

5  Shannon  Drawer  with  Index  and  Compressor  Cover  6 

6  Shannon  Perforator  ...                              ...           7 

7  Method  of  Filing  papers  in  Shannon  Drawer       .          .          .          .7 

8  Transferring  Contents  of  Shannon  Drawer 

9  Filing  the  Contents  of  a  Shannon  Drawer  in  a  Transfer  Case         .          10 
9 A  Compressor  Cover  for  Shannon  Drawer      .          .          .          .          .          10 

10  Shannon  Transfer  Case — closed          ...  11 

1 1  Vertical  File  Drawer 

12  Vertical  Folder 

13  Vertical  Guides        .... 

14  Showing  compressor  in  Vertical  Drawer     .... 

15  Tab  arrangements  commonly  used  on  Guides 

16  Vertical  Guide  with  Metal  Label  Holder    . 

17  Simple  Alphabetical  System      . 

18  Part  of  No.  80  Alphabetical  set  of  Guides 

19  4-drawer  Vertical  Cabinet  and  stack  of  4  Transfer  Cases      .  20 

20  "Record  of  Transfers"  Guide 

21  Simple  Numerical  System          ..... 

22  Alphabetical  Card  Index  for  Numerical  File 

23  Card  Register  of  numbers  for  Numerical  Filing 

24  Method  of  cross-indexing  on  cards     ....  .25 

25  Numerical  Index  used  in  Direct  Number  System          .          .  27 

26  Card  record  of  transferred  folders  in  Numerical  Filing 

27  Direct  Name  System  of  Vertical  Filing       ..... 

28  Miscellaneous  folder  used  in  Direct  Name  System 

29  Direct  Name  Folder 32 

30  Special  Name  Guide  and  Monthly  Folders  for  heavy  correspond- 
ence       ...........         33 

31  "Out"  Guide 34 

32  State  Guides  used  in  Geographical  Filing   . 

33  Guide  arrangement  for  Geographical  File  ....         38 

34  Direct  Geographical  System      ....  40 

35  Subject  guides  for  Quotation  or  Data  File  ....         43 

36  Simple  method  of  Subject  Indexing   ......         44 

37  Vertical  Follow-Up  System        ....  49 
37A  Method  of  using  Follow-Up  System            ....                   50 

38  Copying  Book 54 

39  Letter-press ,  .          .          .54 

40  Rapid  Roller  Copier 

41  Cross  Section  of  Rapid  Roller  Copier          .....         56 

42  Method  of  inserting  letter  in  Copier  .....         56 


vi  INDEX    TO   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Illustration  No.  Page 

43  Set  of  25  Alphabetical  Card  Index  Guides            .          .          .          .  61 

44  Sub-divided  Set  of  Alphabetical  Guides      .          .                    .          .  62 

45  Town  Guides  used  in  Geographical  Filing            .          .          .          .  62 

46  Showing  arrangement  of  County  Guides     .....  63 

47  2-drawer  Card  Cabinet     .          .          .          .          . .        .          .          .63 

48  Record  of  Quotations  Received           ......  64 

49  Record  of  Quotations  Given      .......  64 

50  Expiration  Record  used  by  Insurance  Companies         ...  66 

51  Card  form  used  by  Real  Estate  Broker       .....  67 

52  Card  Follow-up  Record    ........  68 

53  Alphabetical  Follow-up  Record  on  cards     .....  70 

54  Metal  Indicators      .........  71 

55  Uses  of  Indicators  for  cross-indexing            .          .          .          .          .  72 

56  Single  Document  File       ........  75 

57  Document  Guide     .........  76 

58  Check  File  Cabinet 78 

59  Direct  Name  Check  Filing  System 79 

60  Ledger  Cards  for  commercial  use        ......  83 

61  Ledger  Cards  used  by  Savings  Banks  and  Commercial  Houses  84 

62  Handy  Card  Ledger  Tray          .......  85 

63  Detail  of  small  Card  Ledger  System 85 

64  Subdivided  index  for  Card  Ledger  System           ....  86 

65  Safeguard  Card  Ledger     .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .87 

66  Ledger  cards  with  shoulder  tabs         ......  88 

67  Geographical  Card  Ledger  arrangement     .....  89 

68  Numerical  Card  Ledger  arrangement          .....  90 

69  Standing  Card  Ledger  Desk 91 

70  Sectional  Card  Ledger  Desk 92 

71  Tray  for  use  with  Mechanical  Posting  Machines          ...  92 
71A  Card  form  used  with  Mechanical  Posting  Machines     ...  93 

72  Card  record  of  stock 96 

73  Requisition  form      .........  98 

74  Stock  record  showing  indexing  arrangement         ....  99 


INTRODUCTION 

AN  up-to-date  knowledge  of  filing  systems  is  indispensable  to  the 
competent  office  assistant,  bookkeeper  or  stenographer.  If  this 
knowledge  has  not  been  secured  at  some  time  during  the  student's 
training  in  school,  it  is  one  of  the  first  defects  he  is  obliged  to 
remedy  in  a  business  office.  If  he  has  the  knowledge  when  he  enters 
a  business  office,  it  makes  the  way  for  his  success  easier  from  the 
start,  and  improves  his  prospects  for  early  promotion. 

It  is  not  difficult  for  the  student  to  gain  a  good  working  knowledge 
of  filing  systems  in  a  comparatively  brief  course,  when  the  subject  is 
properly  explained  and  illustrated.  Business  schools  throughout 
the  country  are  recognizing  this  fact.  Hundreds  of  them  have  made 
arrangements  for  making  it  a  permanent  part  of  their  curriculum. 

It  is  the  intention  of  most  business  school  faculties  to  see  that  the 
standards  and  equipment  of  each  succeeding  class  shall  be  better 
than  the  standards  and  equipment  of  the  class  of  the  preceding  year. 
That,  of  course,  is  necessary  to  keep  step  with  progress  in  the  business 
world. 

It  might  be  well  here  to  quote  a  paragraph  from  a  recent  article 
appearing  in  a  business  magazine,  entitled  "Business  Equipment  in 
Commercial  Schools".  The  writer  of  this  article,  in  telling  what  it 
was  necessary  for  the  student  to  know,  said  this: 

"If  he  knows  nothing  of  card  index  systems,  nothing  of  ap- 
proved filing  methods,  nothing  of  the  machinery  of  the  office, 
then  he  falls  short  of  the  knowledge  he  might  have  obtained 
with  but  little  additional  effort  during  the  months  or  the 
years  of  his  preparatory  work  in  his  business  college." 

That,  we  believe,  expresses  the  thought  we  wish  to  bring  out,  viz: 
that  the  business  school  that  gives  its  students  this  information 
places  the  best  equipped  and  most  efficient  help  in  the  hands  of  the 
business  man,  thereby  establishing  a  reputation  for  thoroughness 
in  teaching. 

On  taking  a  position  it  is  seldom  that  the  graduate  student  is 
immediately  given  a  position  as  head  bookkeeper,  office  manager, 
head  stenographer,  etc.  Usually  the  position  is  a  combination  of 
some  semi-responsible  position  and  some  other  work  of  a  very  neces- 


viii  INTRODUCTION 


sary  but  less  responsible  character.  Of  course,  the  idea  back  of 
this  is  the  gradual  and  systematic  up-building  of  the  employe's 
efficiency — the  preparatory  work  training  the  employe  to  take  a 
more  remunerative  and  responsible  position. 

The  ability  the  student  displays  in  handling  these  subordinate 
jobs  goes  a  long  way  toward  hastening  that  promotion  to  which 
all  are  looking  forward.  He  must  creep  before  he  walks — and  in 
business  he  starts  at  the  bottom,  likewise. 

Usually  one  of  these  very  important  but  subordinate  positions 
that  we've  been  considering  is  the  filing  of  business  papers — putting 
them  away  systematically  so  that  they  may  be  found  without  delay. 

The  ever  increasing  complexity  of  business  means  the  originating 
of  many  kinds  of  papers  and  records  which  must  be  filed  for  refer- 
ence— preserved  in  get-at-able  shape.  But  generally  it  means  the 
filing  of  letters,  orders,  invoices  or  bills,  commercial  reports,  cancelled 
checks,  estimates,  quotations,  documents  and  catalogs.  There 
exists  hardly  a  business  office,  large  or  small,  but  must  have  these 
papers  and  records  to  keep,  in  either  large  or  small  quantities. 

When  a  student  goes  to  his  employer,  his  value  is  wonderfully 
increased  if  he  can  show  him  more  ways  and  means  to  take  care  of 
office  details  than  he  himself  knows.  If  he  is  well  enough  acquainted 
with  the  general  methods  of  filing  papers  to  do  such  work  without 
supervision,  and  to  produce  these  papers  upon  demand,  he  is  indeed 
a  valuable  asset  to  the  business  man. 

In  many  large  business  organizations  there  are  chief  filing  clerks 
who  have  from  two  to  thirty  assistants  who  do  nothing  but  look  up 
and  file  correspondence.  There  are  thousands  of  business  houses 
throughout  the  country  that  require  from  eight  to  fifty  people  to 
take  care  of  their  filing.  Expert  librarians  have  been  hired  by  busi- 
ness houses  to  supervise  filing  at  salaries  running  as  high  as  $50.00 
a  week.  So  you  see  the  subject  is  worthy  of  the  utmost  attention. 

Now  how  many  students  are  familiar  enough  with  the  standard 
sizes  of  cards  to  be  of  assistance  to  an  employer?  Just  consider 
that  an  employer  wants  a  card  record  of  his  customers  and  he 
roughly  outlines  the  information  he  desires  on  the  card.  It  is  later 
drawn  up  a  little  more  accurately  and  looks  good  enough  to  print. 
The  drawn  proof  covers  a  space  about  six  inches  square  and  the 
employer  asks  the  student  to  have  the  printer  make  up  a  couple  of 
thousand  cards.  At  this  point,  if  he  possesses  the  knowledge  to  be 


INTRODUCTION  ix 


obtained  from  a  thorough  course  in  filing,  he  can  advise  his  employer 
in  such  a  way  as  to  save  him  money,  time  and  annoyance. 

First,  he  shouldn't  make  the  card  6"  square,  although  few  print- 
ers would  suggest  any  change  in  the  "copy"  or  original  form.  The 
record  should  be  redrawn  or  redesigned  to  go  on  a  card  measuring 
6"  wide  and  4"  high,  or  8"  wide  and  5"  high,  or  even  9"  wide  and  6" 
high,  which  are  standard  card  sizes;  and  these  are  the  reasons:  As 
the  record  grows  it  will  require  a  suitable  receptacle  and  suitable 
indexes  or  guides,  and  even  more  cards  after  the  first  lot  is  used  up. 
Should  he  make  it  6"  square,  the  card  cabinet,  the  guides,  and  ad- 
ditional cards  would  all  have  to  be  constructed  specially  to  the  em- 
ployer's order  and  consequently  at  a  much  greater  investment  of 
time  and  money  than  a  standard  size  would  require.  If  it  were 
standard  he  could  obtain  guides  and  cabinets,  carried  in  stock  ready 
for  immediate  delivery,  from  nearly  any  handler  of  office  furniture 
and  supplies,  and  at  a  price  far  lower  than  he  would  be  compelled  to 
pay  for  special  goods. 

An  efficient  filing  course  will  also  give  the  student  a  thorough 
understanding  of  methods  of  indexing;  and  these,  as  everyone  knows, 
are  the  basis  of  all  office  records.  Every  record  of  any  volume  which 
is  already  in  an  office  where  the  student  is  employed,  or  which  is 
later  on  installed,  must  be  indexed  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  readily 
accessible.  You  find  these  records  by  name  of  firm  or  individual, 
or  by  location  or  by  subject,  or  by  some  combination  of  these  fun- 
damental methods.  A  filing  course  goes  very  thoroughly  into  the 
subject  of  indexing,  a  knowledge  of  which  will  enable  the  student 
to  devise  a  method  of  indexing  nearly  any  record  which  may  origi- 
nate or  exist  in  the  average  office. 

Frequently  it  will  be  found  that  business  houses  are  struggling 
along  with  filing  methods  they  have  far  outgrown,  or  that  are  not 
adapted  to  their  requirements.  The  results  are  not  what  they 
would  like,  yet  they  cannot  see  any  way  to  improve  the  methods 
they  are  using.  The  methods  need  changing — something  else  should 
be  installed — and  if  the  student  has  a  proper  knowledge  of  filing  sys- 
tems he  can  make  the  change  greatly  to  his  employer's  benefit  as 
well  as  his  own. 

Suppose,  when  the  graduate  secures  a  position,  his  employer 
says,  "Now  there's  that  letter  file  and  it's  pretty  well  filled  up.  I 
wish  you  would  put  all  that  correspondence  in  transfer  cases  so  we 


INTRODUCTION 


can  get  at  it  and  locate  any  paper  readily,  and  use  this  file  for  our 
current  letters".  Would  the  graduate  know  what  to  do  and  how 
to  go  about  it? 

Or  suppose  the  employer  reaches  a  point  where  he  wants  to  in- 
stall a  filing  system.  The  student  should  be  in  a  position  to  tell 
him  just  what  kind  of  a  system  to  use. 

These  are  just  a  few  of  the  reasons  why  a  graduate  of  a  business 
course  of  any  character  should  know  everything  possible  about 
filing — and,  as  quoted  previously,  that  knowledge  can  be  attained 
by  "but  a  little  additional  effort  during  the  months  or  years  of  his 
preparatory  work  in  his  business  college". 


MODERN  FILING 


CHAPTER     I 

The  Loose  Sheet  System 

This  method  of  filing  was  one  of  the  first  in  use.  While  it  is 
not  the  most  modern,  it  is  used  to  some  extent  in  offices  where  the 
correspondence  is  not  large.  The  principal  use  that  is  made  of  it 
today,  however,  is  in  filing  receipts,  manifests,  memoranda,  and 
other  papers  to  which  only  occasional  reference  is  necessary.  The 
Loose  Sheet  Method  is  simple  in  operation,  yet  it  should  receive 
earnest  attention  by  the  student  who  desires  to  know  more  about 
filing  than  that  used  in  any  one  office. 

The  System  Defined 

When  the  system  first  came  into  use,  it  was  in  the  form  of  a  box 
with  a  hinged  cover  as  shown  in  Illustration  1. 


FIG.  1.     Box  File  showing  index. 

This  is  commonly  known  as  the  BOX  FILE.  As  you  have  al- 
ready noticed,  the  Box  is  a  little  larger  than  actual  letter  size,  in 
order  that  papers  may  slide  in  freely. 

The  interior  contains  a  set  of  index  sheets,  made  of  manila 
paper,  which  are  fastened  to  the  back  of  the  box  to  keep  them  in 
place.  The  little  projection  at  the  right  of  the  sheet  on  which  a  let- 
ter of  the  alphabet  is  printed,  is  called  a  TAB.  This  is  a  very  im- 
portant tool  in  filing,  as  the  quick  finding  of  a  letter  depends  upon 
these  tabs.  This  is  not  only  true  of  this  method  of  filing,  but  it  also 
applies  to  other  methods  which  you  will  study  later. 


MODERN  FILING 


When  a  finer  classification  is  desired,  each  letter  of  the  alphabet 
may  be  divided  into  several  parts.  For  instance,  we  take  the  letter 
"B"  and  divide  it  into  BA,  BE,  BI,  etc.,  each  subdivision  being 
placed  on  a  separate  index  sheet.  This  enables  us  to  find  a  letter 
more  quickly.  If  we  wish  to  file  a  letter  that  we  have  received  from 
C.  B.  Billings,  it  will  be  placed  in  the  compartment  back  of  the  BI 
guide.  Letters  from  individuals  are  filed  according  to  the  last 
name. 

The  Loose  Sheet  Cabinet 

An  improvement  was  effected  in  the  system  when  the  Loose 
Sheet  Cabinet  was  introduced.  It  contains  a  number  of  small  draw- 


F1G.  2.     Loose  Sheet  Cabinet  (Sectional).    An  improvement  on  the  ordinary  box  file. 

ers  made  like  the  Box  File,  as  shown  in  Illustration  2.  Instead  of 
the  hinged  cover,  a  compressor  spring  is  used  to  keep  the  papers  in 
place. 

Its  Disadvantages 

In  order  that  we  may  fully  appreciate  the  time-saving  features 
in  modern  filing,  let  us  observe  a  few  of  the  disadvantages  of  the 
system  herein  explained.  The  drawer  has  to  be  removed  from  the 
cabinet  when  we  wish  to  refer  to  a  letter.  When  the  compressor 
spring  is  released  and  the  drawer  is  slightly  tilted,  the  contents  fall 
out.  The  compartments  do  not  fill  up  evenly,  and  no  provision  is 
made  to  keep  letters  of  individual  firms  separate.  It  entails  more 


THE  LOOSE  SHEET  SYSTEM 


physical  effort  than  is  necessary  and  reference  cannot  be  made 
quickly.  When  a  letter  is  once  removed  from  the  file,  much  time 
is  consumed  in  putting  it  back  in  its  proper  place. 

Loose  Sheet  Transferring 

As  letters  are  filed  in  the  cabinet  from  day  to  day,  the  drawers 
gradually  become  full,  some  drawers  quicker  than  others.  If  you 
receive  a  large  number  of  letters  from  Smith,  Simpson  and  Sullivan, 
they  fill  up  the  drawer  assigned  to  the  letter  US",  and  it  becomes 
necessary  to  remove  the  contents  of  this  drawer  to  make  room  for 
new  letters.  This  process  of  removing  letters  from  a  cabinet  drawer 
and  placing  them  in  a  storage  or  "transfer"  case  is  known  as  "trans- 
ferring" correspondence. 

When  a  loose  sheet  drawer  is  full,  the  papers  are  removed  and 
placed  in  a  loose  sheet  transfer  case,  which  is  similar  to  the  box  file 
described  in  the  second  paragraph  of  the  lesson.  The  transfer  case, 
however,  has  no  index  but  has  a  metal  device  in  the  back  into  which 
is  slipped  the  back  of  the  index  of  the  cabinet  drawer.  Thus  it  is 
possible  to  remove  the  entire  contents  of  the  drawer,  index  and  let- 
ters, and  place  them  in  a  storage  case.  It  is  then  necessary  to  place 
a  new  index  in  the  drawer,  to  provide  for  the  new  letters. 

It  is  in  this  work  of  transferring,  that  the  greatest  disadvantage 
of  the  loose  sheet  file  is  manifested.  Since  one  drawer  of  the  cab- 
inet may  fill  up  three  or  four  times  while  another  drawer  is  filling 
up  once,  it  is  necessary  to  transfer  the  contents  of  some  drawers 
much  more  frequently  than  others.  One  drawer  may  contain  cor- 
respondence dating  back  two  years,  while  in  another  drawer  the 
letters  are  never  more  than  two  months  old.  The  cabinet  thus  lacks 
uniformity.  When  you  want  a  letter  from  Smith,  but  cannot  re- 
member the  date,  you  may  have  to  search  through  several  transfer 
cases  before  you  find  it. 

Furthermore,  loose  sheet  transferring  is  expensive  because  a 
new  index  must  be  purchased  for  each  drawer  transferred.  Since 
these  indexes  have  metal  devices  for  attaching  them  in  the  drawer 
and  transfer  case,  they  cost  three  or  four  times  as  much  as  other  in- 
dexes, as  for  instance,  the  Shannon  index  which  is  described  in  the 
following  chapter. 


MODERN  FILING 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  I 

The  Loose  Sheet  System 

1 — Why  is  it  necessary  for  the  stenographer  to  be  familiar  with  the 

different  methods  of  filing? 
2 — Describe  the  Box  File. 
3 — What  is  a  Loose  Sheet  Cabinet? 
4— What  is  meant  by  a  TAB? 

5 — On  what  does  quick  finding  and  filing  of  letters  depend? 
6 — What  is  the  object  in  subdividing  the  letters  of  the  alphabet? 
7 — How  is  the  Loose  Sheet  System  used  today? 
8 — What  is  meant  by  transferring  correspondence? 

Why  is  it  necessary? 
9 — Give  three  reasons  why  the  Loose  Sheet  System  does  not  meet 

the    requirements    of    today. 
10 — Is  the  Loose  Sheet  System  economical? 

If  not,  why? 


CHAPTER     II 

The  Shannon  File 

Familiarity  with  the  preceding  lesson  will  make  your  study 
of  the  Shannon  File  comparatively  easy.  The  Shannon,  like  the 
Loose  Sheet,  is  termed  a  Small  Drawer  system  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  Vertical  or  Large  Drawer  method  which  we  shall  study 
later.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  represents  one  of  the  early 
methods  of  filing,  the  Shannon  has  certain  advantages  that  even  the 
more  modern  systems  do  not  possess.  It  is  frequently  used  for  filing 
papers  of  more  than  ordinary  importance. 

The  Board  File 

The  simplest  Shannon  File  consists  of  a  board  about  9  inches 
wide  and  14-1/2  inches  high,  on  one  end  of  which  is  mounted  a  double 


FIG.  3.     Shannon  Board  File.    The  Shannon  System  in  its  simplest  form. 

arch,  as  shown  in  Illustration  No.  3.  Each  arm  of  the  arch  breaks 
near  the  top  and  swings  outward.  When  the  arch  is  closed,  the 
arms  fit  snugly  into  the  holes  at  the  top  of  the  upright  posts,  making 
secure  any  papers  that  have  been  slipped  over  them. 

The  Board  File  is  generally  provided  with  an  index,  which  con- 
sists of  a  set  of  manila  sheets,  perforated  with  two  holes  to  fit  over 
the  arch  and  with  tabs  projecting  at  the  right  edge  of  the  board. 
These  index  tabs  may  be  alphabetical,  or  printed  with  the  names  of 
the  months,  or  numbered.  Illustration  No.  4  shows  a  Shannon 
index,  alphabetical. 


MODERN  FILING 


L 

"M" 
'"N 

5E 
"OR'" 


•_____  __  yv 

w 

XY2 

FIG.  4.     Shannon  Index,  Alphabetical. 

The  board  file  may  be  hung  on  a  peg,  and  you  will  see  them  in 
a  great  many  offices,  hanging  on  the  wall  or  on  the  edge  of  a  desk. 

The  Shannon  Cabinet 

The  Shannon  Cabinet  is  simply  a  cabinet  having  one  or  more 
Shannon  drawers,  and  the  Shannon  drawer  is  the  same  as  the  board 
file  with  the  addition  of  a  drawer  front.  In  Illustration  No.  5  you 
will  see  a  Shannon  drawer  equipped  with  index  and  compressor  cover. 
The  compressor  cover  keeps  the  papers  compact. 


FIG.  5.     Shannon  Drawer  with  Index  and  Compressor  Cover 


THE  SHANNON  FILE 


How  Papers  Are  Filed 

Accompanying  the  Shannon  File  is  a  device  known  as  the  Shan- 
non Perforator,  Figure  6.  All  papers  to  be  filed  by  this  method  are 
perforated  at  the  top  in  a  uniform  position  so  that  the  tabs  of  the 


FIG.  6.     Shannon  Perforator.    Cuts  holes  in  uniform  position    in    the  sheets  to  be  filed. 


index  will  not  be  covered.     As  many  as  twenty  papers  can  be  per- 
forated at  one  time. 

We  will  assume  that  you  wish  to  file  a  letter  which  you  have 
received  from  L.  M.  Hoosier.  Locate  the  "H"  tab  quickly,  and 
throw  all  papers,  including  the  "H"  guide,  over  the  arches  as  shown 
in  Illustration  7.  Place  your  thumb  on  the  arm  of  the  right  arch 


FIG.  7.     Shannon  Drawer  with  papers  thrown  back  over  arch. 


8  MODERN  FILING 


and  swing  outward;  then  fit  the  perforations  over  the  upright 
posts,  release  the  arms,  and  the  letter  becomes  part  of  the  file.  The 
same  principle  applies  to  finding  correspondence. 

Of  course  it  must  be  remembered  that  all  correspondence  be- 
neath each  index  sheet  is  arranged  in  order;  for  instance,  a  letter 
from  Douglas  &  Company  would  be  placed  on  top  of  the  one  from 
H.  C.  Dressen,  and  a  letter  from  A.  E.  Dickinson  would  be  placed  on 
top  of  the  one  from  Douglas  &  Company.  If  there  are  several  let- 
ters from  this  firm,  the  most  recent  communication  would  appear  on 
top. 

Important  Features  Summarized 

Protection  against  loss  of  papers  is  a  very  important  feature  of 
the  Shannon  File.  When  a  letter  is  once  filed  it  remains  in  its  place 
until  removed  by  the  file  clerk.  The  drawer  may  be  inverted, 
turned  on  either  side,  or  accidentally  dropped,  and  yet  the  contents 
are  undisturbed.  No  less  important  is  the  facility  with  which  var- 
ious sizes  of  papers  may  be  cared  for  in  the  same  drawer. 

In  business  it  is  very  necessary  that  copies  of  outgoing  letters 
and  documents  be  preserved  for  future  reference.  It  is  therefore 
essential  that  these  copies  be  filed  with  the  letters  to  which  they  are 
answers.  Thus,  a  letter  from  Mr.  Dressen  would  be  under  the  "D" 
index  tab,  and  our  answer  to  that  letter  would  be  directly  on  top  of 
it;  a  later  communication  appears  next,  with  a  copy  of  our  answer 
also  above  it.  By  this  plan  correspondence  is  so  classified  that 
reference  is  made  easy. 

It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  file  letters  according  to  date,  es- 
pecially if  the  subject  matter  is  to  receive  attention  at  some  future 
time.  This  is  particularly  true  of  orders  when  designating  the  time 
of  delivery.  We  frequently  receive  inquiries  for  catalogs  and  adver- 
tising matter.  Believing  that  the  inquirer  may  become  a  customer, 
we  decide  to  write  him  again  in  a  short  time — perhaps  ten  days.  We, 
therefore,  place  his  letter  under  that  particular  date,  when  the  mat- 
ter is  called  up  automatically.  At  the  stated  time  the  papers  in  that 
compartment  are  taken  out  and  referred  to  the  proper  official. 

The  capacity  of  a  Shannon  drawer  is  approximately  400  letters. 


THE  SHANNON  FILE 


Shannon  Transferring 

The  term  " transferring"  means  taking  the  papers  from  the  orig- 
inal or  current  file  and  placing  them  in  a  storage  case.  Papers  are 
usually  kept  in  the  original  or  current  file  for  a  period  of  six  months 


FIG.  8.     Shannon  Drawer  with  contents  about  to  be  transferred. 

or  a  year  or  sometimes  longer  than  that.  The  usual  period,  how- 
ever, is  one  year.  At  the  end  of  this  period,  papers  must  be  econom- 
ically housed  for  convenient  reference. 

The  process  of  transferring  by  the  Shannon  system  is  not  diffi- 
cult. Shannon  transfer  cases  are  made  of  strawboard.  Each  trans- 
fer case  is  equipped  with  a  transfer  arch,  which  is  of  cheaper  and 
simpler  construction  than  the  original  arch  in  the  original  Shannon 
file.  The  back  of  the  transfer  case  provides  for  suitable  entries  by 
which  its  contents  may  be  ascertained.  With  each  transfer  case  is 
a  "U"  shaped  transfer  wire  by  which  the  actual  operation  of  trans- 
ferring is  accomplished  in  a  simple  and  rapid  manner. 

The  Shannon  drawer  to  be  transferred  is  removed  from  the  file. 
The  Compressor  cover  is  swung  over  the  arches  as  shown  in  Figure 
8,  and  the  upright  arches  swung  outwards,  leaving  the  upright  posts 
clear.  The  "U"  shaped  transfer  wire  is  then  inserted  in  the  hollow 
upright  posts,  the  fingers  placed  beneath  the  matter  to  be  trans- 
ferred, and  the  entire  matter  lifted  off  and  moved  to  the  transfer 
case  where  the  transfer  wire  is  inserted  in  the  hollow  upright  posts 


10 


MODERN  FILING 


FIG.  9.     Contents  of  Shannon  Drawer  being  filed  in  transfer  case. 

of  the  transfer  arch,  Figure  9;  and  thus  the  papers  are  guided  over 
the  upright  posts  in  the  transfer  case,  the  arches  of  which  are  then 
closed. 

The  physical  act  of  transferring  is  then  complete  and  it  is  nec- 
essary to  make  a  careful  record  of  the  transferred  material.     The 


44  Y  and  E"  Office  Filing  Systems 


FIG.  9A.     Compressor  cover  provides  for  record  of  transfers. 


THE  SHANNON  FILE 


11 


compressor  cover,  which  is  made  of  heavy  board,  in  the  original 
drawer,  bears  this  record.  This  compressor  cover  provides  for  the 
record  of  the  dates  and  the  material  transferred,  and  the  number  of 
the  transfer  case  in  which  it  can  be  found,  (See  Figure  9A). 

This  information  is  then  entered  on  the  label  on  the  back  of  the 
transfer  case,  and  the  transfer  case  itself  put  away  in  the  storage 
room  in  its  proper  numerical  order.  (See  Figure  10). 


FIG.  10.     Shannon  Transfer  Case  closed.     Note  label  for  record  of  material  transferred. 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  II 
The  Shannon  File 

1 — Describe  the  Board  File.     The  Shannon  Cabinet. 
2 — How  is  a  Shannon  File  indexed? 
3 — How  is  a  letter  filed  in  a  Shannon  File  ? 
4 — Explain  how  to  use  a  file  having  a  daily  index. 
5 — What  is  done  with  copies  of  outgoing  letters? 
6 — What  is  a  Shannon  Perforator? 

7 — Is  it  possible  to  file  postal  cards  in  the  Shannon  drawer? 
8 — In  what  way  does  the  Shannon  File  give  security  to  papers? 
9 — Describe  the  method  of  transferring  in  the  Shannon  system. 
10 — After  reading  Chapters  1  and  2,  which  method  of  filing  do  you 
prefer?     Why? 


CHAPTER     III 

Vertical  Filing 

Vertical  filing  means  filing  papers  on  edge  in  a  large  drawer.  A 
vertical  drawer  has  a  capacity  of  between  3000  and  5000  letters — 
enough  to  fill  about  10  Shannon  drawers. 


FIG.  11.     Vertical  Filing  Drawer.    Note  Frictionless  Suspension  Slide  at  the  side. 

A  vertical  drawer  may  be  opened  and  closed  very  easily  in  spite 
of  the  weight  of  its  contents.  Because  of  the  roller  slides  or  arms 
which  are  attached  to  the  sides  of  the  drawer,  it  is  possible  to  pull 
the  drawer  out  to  its  full  length  without  actually  removing  it  from 
the  cabinet.  Papers  filed  in  the  back  of  the  drawer  may  be  referred 
to  as  easily  as  those  near  the  front.  An  idea  of  this  may  be  gained 
from  Figure  11. 

Difference  between   Vertical  and  Shannon 

The  unit  of  the  vertical  system  is  not  the  drawer,  as  in  the  Shan- 
non and  Loose  Sheet  files,  but  the  folder.  If  you  are  asked  to  get  a 
particular  letter  from  the  Shannon  file,  it  is  necessary  to  remove  the 
drawer  from  the  cabinet  before  you  extract  the  letter.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  you  are  directed  to  bring  certain  correspondence  from  the 
vertical  file,  only  the  folder  containing  that  firm's  correspondence 
would  be  removed. 

12 


VERTICAL  FILING 


13 


The  Folder 

A  folder  is  a  sheet  of  heavy  manila  paper  folded  once,  as  shown 
in  Illustration  12.  Papers  of  letter  size  or  smaller  are  laid  in  the 
folder  like  the  leaves  in  a  book. 

Each  folder  will  hold  as  many  as  50  letters.  If  the  letters 
in  the  folder  are  all  from  one  firm,  they  are  filed  in  order  of  dates 
that  is,  the  first  letter  received  is  laid  in  the  back  of  the  folder 
and  later  letters  are  laid  above  it,  so  that  the  last  one  is  always 


FIG.  12.     Vertical  Folder  in  which  are  filed  all  letters  with  one  firm. 

in  the  front.  In  case  letters  from  several  firms  are  filed  in  one 
folder,  they  are  first  arranged  alphabetically;  and  then  each  con- 
cern's letters  are  kept  in  order  of  date.  When  the  folder  is  placed 
on  its  side  you  refer  to  the  contents  just  as  you  would  turn 
the  leaves  of  a  book,  except  that  the  papers  are  not  fastened. 

Notice,  in  Figure  12,  the  projecting  tab  on  the  rear  edge  of  the 
folder.  On  this  is  written  the  name  of  the  customer  whose  let- 
ters are  filed  within.  Most  folders  are  made  with  projecting 
tabs,  although  some  are  straight  cut. 


FIG.  13.     Typical  Vertical  Guides,  behind  which  folders  are  filed. 


14 


MODERN-  FILING 


The  Guide 

(See  illustration  previous  page) 

The  Guide  is  so  named  because  it  shows  us  where  the  papers 
we  want  are  located.  It  is  a  sheet  of  stiff  material,  manila  or  press- 
board,  of  proper  size  to  stand  in  the  vertical  drawer;  and  on  its 
upper  edge  is  a  projecting  tab,  on  which  the  actual  indexing  data 
is  printed — see  Figure  13.  For  instance,  the  tab  may  show  a 
letter  of  the  alphabet,  or  a  number,  or  a  name.  The  guide  is  fas- 
tened in  the  drawer  by  means  of  a  rod  which  passes  through  an 
opening  in  a  projection  at  the  lower  edge. 

Guides  are  used  as  the  index  in  the  vertical  drawer.  Back 
of  each  guide  there  are  one  or  more  folders.  The  guide  thus 
points  the  way  to  the  folder  that  you  want.  Both  guides  and 
folders  are  kept  in  an  upright  position  by  a  movable  wood  block 
called  a  compressor  which  runs  on  a  track  in  the  bottom  of  the 


FIG.  14.     Interior  of  Vertical  Drawer  showing  compressor. 

drawer,  as  shown  in  Figure  14.  As  the  volume  of  correspondence 
is  increased,  this  compressor  is  moved  toward  the  back  of  the 
drawer. 

Tabs 

The  width  of  the  tab  which  projects  above  the  top  edge  of  a 
guide  is  indicated  by  the  word  "cut".  Thus  a  guide  having  one 
tab  the  full  width  of  the  top  of  the  guide  is  known  as  "one  cut". 


VERTICAL  FILING 


15 


1  CUT 


CUT 


&  CUT 


'/4  CUT 


FIG.  15.     Showing  the  tab  arrangements  commonly  used  on  guides. 

Those  having  tabs  which  extend  only  one-third  of  the  way  across 
the  top  are  "one-third  cut"  guides;  and  these  guides  have  tabs  in 
three  different  positions.  The  first  guide  has  a  tab  at  the  left  or 
in  the  "first  position";  the  next  guide  has  a  center  tab,  in  the  "sec- 
ond position";  and  the  third  has  a  "third  position"  tab  at  the  right. 
Guides  are  also  commonly  made  with  one-fifth  cut  tabs.  In  Fig- 
ure 15,  you  can  see  the  different  tab  arrangements. 

Metal  Label  Holders 

In  place  of  tabs,  some  pressboard  guides  have  metal  label  hold- 
ers, as  shown  in  Figure  16.     The  indexing  data  is  printed  or  writ- 


FIG.  16.     Vertical  Guide  with  Metal  Label  Holder,  in  which  the  label  can  be  changed  at  will. 


16  MODERN  FILING 


ten  on  the  label  which  is  then  inserted  in  the  label  holder.  These 
guides  are  very  durable,  since  they  are  made  of  heavy  pressboard, 
and  the  metal  label  holders  will  not  wear  out.  Furthermore,  they 
have  the  advantage  that  old  labels  may  be  removed  and  new  ones 
inserted  whenever  necessary. 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  III 
Vertical  Filing 

1 — Explain  the  principle  of  Vertical  Filing. 

2 — What  is  a  guide?     Can  you  assign  a  good  reason  for  fasten- 
ing the  guide  in  the  drawer? 
What  is  a  folder? 

3 — What  is  the  capacity  of  the  Vertical  drawer? 
The    Shannon? 

4 — How  are  the  guides  and  folders  arranged? 

5 — State  two  advantages  in  favor  of  the  vertical  system  of  filing. 

6 — What  prevents  the  contents  from  lying  flat  in  the  drawer? 

7 — Is  there  any  particular  advantage  in  pulling  the  drawer  out 
full   length? 

8 — Contrast  the  operations  in  referring  to  the  Vertical  file  and  the 
Shannon. 

9 — About  how  many  letters  can  be  placed  in  a  folder? 
10 — What  is  a  tab?     What  is  meant  by  a  "one- third  cut"  guide? 


CHAPTER     IV 

Methods  of  Indexing  and  Alphabetical  Filing 

In  the  preceding  lesson  we  discussed  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  vertical  filing.  We  saw  how  guides  and  folders  are  placed 
in  the  drawer.  Now  we  come  to  a  most  important  subject:  the 
arrangement  of  the  guides  and  folders  in  the  drawer,  known 
as  Indexing,  for  it  is  the  index  which  enables  us  to  find  a  paper 
after  it  has  been  filed.  In  fact  the  chief  object  of  filing  is  quick 
finding,  and  we  should  never  need  a  filing  system  if  the  papers 
were  put  away  and  never  consulted  afterward. 

Fundamentally,  there  are  three  different  methods  of  index- 
ing: ALPHABETICAL,  filing  by  name;  GEOGRAPHICAL,  fil- 
ing by  location,  that  is  by  town,  county  or  state;  SUBJECT,  fil- 
ing by  topics  or  subjects.  These  represent  the  standard  ways 
of  indexing.  In  every  business  the  filing  system  in  use  embraces 
one  or  a  combination  of  these  principles.  Sometimes  it  is  found 
convenient  to  use  all  of  them.  There  is  also  the  numerical  me- 
thod, which  means  filing  by  number;  but  this  is  not  a  separate 
and  distinct  method,  for  the  number  always  represents  a  name  or 
a  subject. 

As  you  continue  this  course  you  will  observe  that  a  standard 
method  of  filing  may  be  simple  or  it  can  be  made  elaborate,  just 
as  conditions  may  demand.  Like  our  systems  of  bookkeeping, 
it  has  its  elementary  processes  and  also  its  advanced  stage.  The 
reason  for  this  is  perfectly  obvious.  A  firm  receiving  an  average 
of  fifteen  letters  a  day  would  not  need  the  elaborate  guide  arrange- 
ment required  by  a  firm  that  receives  five  hundred  letters.  A 
clear  understanding  of  the  fundamental  principles  will  not  only 
enable  you  to  operate  the  most  elaborate  filing  system,  but  it  will 
also  acquaint  you  with  the  variations  which  are  sometimes  made 
necessary  by  the  peculiar  nature  of  a  business. 

.Alphabetical  Filing 

Because  of  its  simplicity  and  ease  of  operation,  the  alphabet- 
ical plan  of  indexing  is  widely  used.  It  is  better  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  the  average  business  than  any  other  except  the 
Direct  Name  system,  which  is  really  a  special  form  of  the  alpha- 

17 


18 


MODERN  FILING 


FIG.    17.     The   simplest   Alphabetical    System— one    guide    for    each    letter    of   the    alphabet 

(except  X). 

betical  method.  A  glance  at  Illustration  17  will  acquaint  you 
with  the  simplest  form  of  alphabetical  filing.  It  consists  of  twenty- 
five  guides,  each  bearing  a  letter  of  the  alphabet.  The  tabs  are 
arranged  diagonally  across  the  drawer  so  that  any  letter  may  be 
readily  found.  Behind  each  guide  is  a  corresponding  alphabetical 
folder  in  which  we  file  all  papers  under  that  particular  letter. 

When  the  correspondence  with  a  firm  or  individual  numbers 
ten  or  more  letters,  a  special  folder  is  assigned,  and  is  placed  in 
front  of  the  alphabetical  folder.  Where  this  is  necessary,  the  name 
of  the  firm  is  written  on  the  right-hand  tab  of  the  folder,  and  all 
subsequent  letters  accumulate  in  this  receptacle. 

The  Principle  Applied 

Let  us  suppose  that  we  have  a  number  of  letters  ready  to  be 
filed.  They  are  first  arranged  in  alphabetic  order  so  that  the  file 
clerk  may  work  in  one  direction — forward.  By  exercising  a  little 
precaution  in  handling  papers,  the  chances  for  misfiling  can  be 
greatly  reduced.  The  papers  once  arranged,  the  process  of  dis- 
posing of  them  is  very  simple.  File  back  of  the  "A"  guide  any 
letters  from  correspondents  whose  names  begin  with  "A".  If  your 


METHODS  OF  INDEXING  A  ND  ALPHABETIC  FILING     19 

correspondence  is  large,  many  firms  will  have  separate  folders. 
First  determine  whether  a  special  folder  has  been  provided  for  the 
firm  whose  letters  you  are  filing.  This  can  be  readily  ascertained 
by  glancing  through  the  names  on  the  folders.  If  you  find  that, 
no  assignment  has  been  made,  place  the  letter  in  the  miscellaneous 
alphabetical  folder,  which  will  always  be  the  last  one  in  that  di- 
vision of  the  index.  When  you  have  had  a  little  experience  in 
classifying  the  correspondence  for  the  files,  you  will  usually  know 
what  correspondents  have  been  given  separate  folders. 

Larger  Alphabetical  Sets 

Should  the  correspondence  be  too  large  to  be  handled  con- 
veniently by  the  guide  arrangement  explained  in  the  preceding 
paragraph,  a  more  finely  divided  index  is  used.  The  alphabet 
is  divided  into  40,  80,  120,  160,  or  more  parts.  These  run  on  up 
as  high  as  6000.  On  first  thought  this  kind  of  index  may  seem 
complex;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  more  subdivisions 
the  file  contains,  the  nearer  you  are  to  a  letter  you  wish  to  find. 
This  is  taking  it  for  granted,  of  course,  that  the  correspondence 
is  very  large. 


FIG.  18.     Part  of  a  No.  80  set  of  Guides,  dividing  the  alphabet  into  80  parts. 

Under  the  80  subdivision  plan,  as  illustrated  in  Figure  18, 
the  letter  "C"  is  divided  into  six  parts — Ca,  Ce-Ci-Cl,  Coa-Con, 
Coo-Coz,  Cr,  Cu-Cz.  The  first  combination  appears  in  red,  which 
is  a  great  aid  to  quick  reference.  In  using  an  index  of  this  size, 
it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  first  two  letters  of  a  name.  If  we 
wish  to  find  a  letter  from  E.  V.  Cecilmeyer,  we  shall  have  to  think 
of  CE  and  locate  the  tab  bearing  that  combination.  A  letter  from 


20  MODERN  FILING 


M.  W.  Chase  would  be  filed  back  of  the  same  guide,  as  this  sub- 
division includes  any  combination  between  CE  and  CN.  A  cor- 
responding division  is  made  of  the  other  letters  of  the  alphabet, 
.although  some  letters  have  more  parts  than  others.  This  will  de- 
pend upon  the  frequency  with  which  certain  combinations  occur 
in  proper  names. 

A  Iphabetical  Transferring 

The  accumulation  of  papers  in  a  filing  cabinet  will,  of  course, 
fill  it  in  a  short  time.  To  keep  buying  new  cabinets  to  accommo- 
date the  new  papers  would  be  expensive,  especially  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  papers  are  becoming  less  valuable  as  time  passes. 
They  are,  however,  of  such  importance  that  most  business  houses 
retain  them  in  accessible  shape  for  several  years.  This  has  re- 
sulted in  what  is  termed  "Transferring",  which  means  clearing  out 
the  original  file  to  make  room  for  the  current  papers,  and  putting 
the  old  papers  in  storage  or  transfer  cases.  These  transfer  cases 
should  be  just  as  accessible  as  the  original  file. 

We  have  already  seen  how  this  is  accomplished  by  the  Shannon 
system.  •  In  a  vertical  system  the  process  is  quicker,  cheaper  and 


FIG.  19.     Four-drawer  Vertical  Cabinet  (left),  and  stack  of  four  Vertical  Transfer 

Cases  (right). 


ME  THODS  OF  INDEXING  A  ND  A  LPHA  BE  TIC  FILING    2 1 

less  difficult.  The  vertical  transfer  case  is  made  just  the  same 
size  as  the  original  vertical  drawer,  but  of  cheaper  material.  Fig- 
ure 19  shows  a  stack  of  four  vertical  transfer  cases. 

Let  us  suppose  that  your  filing  system  requires  a  four-drawer 
cabinet  as  illustrated  in  Figure  19,  and  at  the  end  of  1916  it  be- 
comes full  and  must  be  transferred.  You  would  obtain  a  stack  of 
transfer  cases  like  those  shown,  and  place  them  beside  your  original 
cabinet.  You  would  then  transfer  the  entire  contents  of  all  drawers, 
including  the  guides,  to  the  transfer  cases  and  mark  the  drawer 
labels  to  agree  with  the  contents.  Then  you  would  replace  the 
guides  and  folders  for  the  regular  cabinet  by  securing  them  from 
the  manufacturer. 

This  method  of  transferring  the  entire  contents  of  drawers, 
including  the  indexes  or  guides,  is  quite  common  in  simple  alpha- 
betical filing.  In  the  Direct  Name  System,  which  is  discussed  in 
Chapter  6,  however,  the  method  is  somewhat  different. 

The  transferring  of  a  geographical,  subject  or  numerical  file 
is  also  somewhat  different  in  detail,  although  the  principle  is  ex- 
actly the  same.  These  matters  will  be  taken  up  with  the  study 
of  the  respective  systems. 

Now  you  must  make  a  record  of  your  transferred  papers,  so 
that  by  referring  to  your  current  filing  cabinet,  you  can  immedi- 
ately ascertain  the  location  of  any  transferred  paper,  whether 
transferred  last  year  or  several  years  ago.  In  vertical  filing,  this 
result  is  accomplished  in  the  following  manner: 


-JGL- 


FIG.   20.     "Record  of  Transfers"  Guide. 


22  MODERN  FILING 


Each  transfer  case  or  drawer  is  given  a  number;  and  in  each 
cabinet  drawer,  in  the  front,  is  placed  a  guide,  called  "Record  of 
Transfers"  guide,  Figure  20,  on  which  the  numbers  and  dates  are 
entered.  This  guide  is  kept  in  the  drawer  from  year  to  year,  and 
every  transfer  made  is  recorded  thereon.  Reference  to  it  gives 
the  location  of  any  transferred  paper.  Thus  Figure  20  shows  that 
correspondence  "A  to  E"  for  the  year  1916  is  in  transfer  case  Num- 
ber One. 

These  are  the  principles  of  transferring.  Variations  will  be 
found,  but  the  one  big  thing  to  remember  is  that  what  is  termed 
"periodical  transferring"  is  the  most  efficient.  This  means  trans- 
ferring the  entire  contents  from  your  file  at  a  set  time  each  year, 
or  each  half  year,  as  the  case  may  be.  Transferring  individual 
folders  as  they  become  full  is  a  great  mistake  and  will  soon  result 
in  confusion. 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  IV 
Methods  of  Indexing  and  Alphabetical  Filing 

1 — Name  the  standard  methods  of  indexing  and  define  each. 

2 — What  important  business  essential  should  the  study  of  filing 
develop? 

3 — Why  is  alphabetical  filing  so  commonly  used? 

4 — How  are  the  tabs  arranged  in  alphabetical  order?     Why? 

5 — If  you  have  fifty  letters  to  file,  how  will  you  go  about  it? 

6 — When  is  it  necessary  to  use  larger  sets  of  guides? 

7 — When  and  for  what  purpose  are  individual  folders  assigned? 

8 — Please  explain  how  papers  are  arranged  within  the  folders? 

9 — Explain  the  guide  arrangement  of  a  vertical  drawer  having 

80    subdivisions. 

10 — What  is  meant  by  transferring? 

11 — How  would  you  transfer  the  contents  of  a  four-drawer  cabinet? 
12 — Why  is  a  "Record  of  Transfers"  guide  necessary? 


CHAPTER    V 

Numerical  Filing 

The  Numerical  System  represents  the  oldest  form  of  vertical 
filing.  It  is  not  actually  an  independent  method  of  indexing,  for 
it  always  depends  on  another  alphabetical  or  subject  index. 

It  has  certain  features  that  are  particularly  adapted  to  certain 
lines  of  business;  and  while  it  is  not  recommended  by  system  ex- 
perts generally,  it  is  used  to  some  extent  in  offices  of  railroads, 
in  law  offices,  and  where  a  cross-reference  is  desired. 

If  you  will  open  the  Numerical  drawer  of  your  cabinet  and 
note  the  numbers  on  the  guides  and  folders,  you  will  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  understanding  the  principle  of  the  system.  As  the  name 
suggests,  all  letters  are  filed  by  number.  Guides  with  tabs  num- 
bered 10,  20,  30,  etc.,  as  shown  in  Figure  21,  are  used  to  separate 
the  drawer  into  convenient  divisions.  Between  these  guides  are 
folders  arranged  in  numerical  order.  The  name  and  number  of 
the  correspondent  are  written  on  the  tab  of  the  folder. 


FIG.  21.     Simple  Numerical  System. 

23 


24 


MODERN  FILING 


In  this  system  you  assign  a  number  to  each  individual  or  con- 
cern with  whom  you  do  business,  and  only  the  papers  from  that 
firm  are  placed  in  the  folder  bearing  that  number.  Having  its 
own  individual  place  in  the  drawer,  the  folder  is  not  likely  to  find 
its  way  into  another  division  if  reasonable  care  is  exercised  when 
returning  folders. 

The  Card  Index 


FIG.  22.     Alphabetical  Card  Index  for  Numerical  File. 

Because  of  the  large  number  of  correspondents  represented 
in  the  file,  it  is  not  possible  to  remember  all  the  numbers  that  are 
assigned  to  different  firms.  In  connection  with  the  large  drawer 
it  is  necessary  to  use  an  alphabetical  card  index  on  5x3  cards  as 
illustrated  in  Figure  22.  A  card  is  made  out  for  each  correspond- 
ent, and  the  file  number  entered  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner. 
It  is  then  filed  in  the  card  drawer,  alphabetically.  You  see  the 
indexing  method  is  really  alphabetical  in  this  instance,  because  it 
depends  on  the  alphabetical  card  index,  although  the  vertical  file 
is  arranged  by  number. 

Figure  23  shows  how  we  keep  a  check  on  numbers  that  have 
been  assigned.  Phillip  Robbins  writes  us  today  for  the  first  time. 
We  turn  to  this  card,  which  is  always  found  in  the  front  of  the  card 
drawer  and  we  note  that  the  last  folder  in  use  is  96.  We  assign 
him  97,  and  enter  his  name.  His  number  is  then  written  on  the 
letter  and  a  folder  is  made  out  with  his  name  and  number.  When 
you  wish  to  find  a  letter  you  must  first  refer  to  the  card  index  in 
order  to  get  the  file  number. 


NUMERICAL  FILING 


25 


-7^ 


FIG.  23.     Register  of  numbers  assigned  to  correspondents. 


Cross  Reference  Indexing 

In  large  concerns  where  a  cross-index  to  the  file  is  necessary, 
the  Numerical  System  is  more  convenient  than  any  other  method. 
We  learn  from  Figure  24  how  this  system  might  be  used  by  a  pub- 


TEACHER.    SIMMS  COMMERCIAL  COLLEGE 


FIG.  24.     Method  of  cross-indexing  on  cards. 


26  MODERN  FILING 


lishing  company  that  sells  textbooks  to  commercial  schools.  W. 
L.  Simms,  President  of  the  Simms  Commercial  College,  Sedalia, 
Mo.,  has  placed  an  order  for  books  with  the  Southwestern  Pub- 
lishing Company.  In  filing  the  letter,  the  Publishing  house  would 
make  out  a  card  as  shown  on  card  "A";  and  file  the  card  by  name 
of  school  and  the  letter  by  number.  In  a  few  days  the  principal 
of  the  school,  A.  R.  Drake,  notifies  the  company  that  three  of  the 
books  ordered  were  missing  from  the  shipment.  Of  course  it  will 
be  more  convenient  to  have  both  letters  relating  to  that  order  ap- 
pear in  the  same  place  in  the  file.  To  have  our  card  file  show 
the  names  of  all  our  correspondents,  it  will  be  necessary  to  make 
out  a  card  for  Mr.  Drake  as  indicated  on  card  "B".  This  card 
is  filed  regularly  back  of  his  initial,  "D",  while  the  letter  will  be 
placed  in  the  Simms  Commercial  College  folder.  Later  one  of 
the  teachers  in  that  school  decides  to  take  a  correspondence  course 
in  bookkeeping,  and  writes  the  company  in  regard  to  the  matter. 
Again  it  would  entail  less  work  on  the  part  of  the  file  clerk,  and 
condense  the  filing  system,  to  have  this  letter  appear  with  the 
other  correspondence  from  that  school.  Accordingly  a  card  is  as- 
signed to  Miss  Jewell,  as  indicated  on  Card  "C",  her  letter  being 
filed  with  the  other  correspondence  from  that  institution. 


Direct  Number  System 

Since  the  introduction  of  the  Numerical  System  of  filing  an 
improved  form  has  been  devised  which  is  known  as  the  Direct  Num- 
ber system.  This  system  is  illustrated  in  Figure  25.  The  guides 
used  in  the  system  are  equipped  with  metal  label  holders,  which  are 
numbered  by  10's.  The  label  holders  at  the  leftside  of  the  drawer 
are  used  for  the  equal  hundreds,  as  1,  100,  200,  300,  etc.  The 
intermediate  guides  are  in  the  second  and  third  positions,  and  these 
are  numbered  10,  20,  30,  etc.  The  fact  that  the  equal  hundreds 
are  kept  in  a  distinct  position  makes  it  all  the  easier  to  find  the 
guide  and  the  folder  wanted.  The  folders  all  have  right  hand  tabs 
and  their  numbers  and  names  show  up  very  prominently  at  the 
right  side  of  the  drawer.  The  Direct  Number  System  is  the  most 
efficient  and  rapid  Numerical  System. 


NUMERICAL  FILING 


27 


/  7-°  i7«'«c  B.U  *  j,.M ,:_} 
y /•«  i. '•«^JM:.  ;>,.,! 

y^.":^^!1— 


FIG.  25.  Numerical  index  is  in  three  rows  at  the  left  of  the  file,  the  first  row  being  for  100's, 
the  second  row  for  odd  10's,  and  the  third  row  for  even  10's.  The  right  of  the 
file  is  reserved  for  the  tabs  of  the  folders  in  which  the  correspondence  is  filed. 
The  guides  are  strong  pressboard  with  Flat  Metal  Label  Holders.  Folders  are 
made  of  heavy  manila  and  scored  at  the  bottom  so  as  to  expand  and  give  unusual 
capacity. 


Disadvantages  of  Numerical  System 

One  of  the  objections  to  this  method  is  that  two  distinct  op- 
erations are  required  in  filing  and  finding  papers.  You  must  first 
refer  to  the  card  drawer  for  the  file  number,  and  then  turn  to  the 
vertical  drawer.  If  you  have  a  letter  from  a  new  customer,  you 
are  obliged  to  fill  out  a  card  and  assign  a  number  to  the  card  before 
you  can  file  the  letter.  You  see  the  system  is  indirect. 

Another  feature  that  reduces  the  efficiency  of  the  system  is 
that  in  the  event  a  firm  ceases  to  do  business  with  you,  the  file  num- 
ber is  no  longer  used.  It  would  not  be  advisable  to  reassign  the 
number,  at  least  not  for  a  year  or  more,  as  the  old  concern  might 
resume  business  at  any  time. 

A  third  objection  is  that  a  separate  folder  must  be  used  for 
every  concern,  even  jf  only  one  letter  is  ever  received  from  the 
concern.  This  means  a  waste  of  folders,  which  fill  up  the  drawer 
and  leave  less  room  for  the  letters.  In  order  to  avoid  this,  con- 
cerns using  the  numerical  system  have  generally  found  it  necessary 
to  have  one  or  more  drawers  devoted  to  an  alphabetical  system, 
to  take  care  of  the  small  correspondents.  Only  correspondence 


28 


MODERN  FILING 


from  regular  customers  is  filed  numerically.  This  results  in  con- 
fusion, for  some  letters  from  a  concern  may  be  filed  in  the  mis- 
cellaneous alphabetical  file,  and  others  from  the  same  concern  in 
the  regular  numerical  file.  On  account  of  these  defects  the  nu- 
merical system  is  not  commonly  used  in  the  average  business,  but 
has  been  superseded  by  systems  that  permit  direct  reference  to  the 
letters. 

Numerical  Transferring 

To  get  the  best  results  from  numerical  filing,  the  original  file 
should  provide  capacity  for  two  years  correspondence,  and  these 
two  years  correspondence  should  be  separated  by  years  in  folders: 
for  instance,  if  the  file  number  for  the  American  Manufacturing 
Company  is  308,  at  the  end  of  two  years  there  will  be  two  folders 
bearing  the  number  "308",  one  marked  "308  American  Manu- 
facturing Co.,  Jan.  1.  to  Dec.  31st,  1915,"  and  the  other  mark- 
ed "308  American  Manufacturing  Co.,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31,  1916." 

Then  at  the  end  of  1916  you  would  make  your  first  transfer, 
using  vertical  transfer  cases  with  guides  arranged  numerically,  just 
as  in  your  original  file.  All  of  the  folders  marked  "1915"  are  re- 
moved to  the  transfer  file,  the  transfer  cases  being  numbered  from 
"1"  up. 

The  correspondence  for  1917  is  then  placed  in  new  folders 
which  are  placed  in  their  proper  numerical  order  in  the  current  file. 

An  accurate  record  of  these  transferred  folders  can  best  be  kept 
on  cards,  one  card  representing  each  number —  see  Fig.  26.  These 
cards  are  arranged  numerically  and  provide  for  the  name  and  ad- 


Or  TI^ANSFEfTS 


FIG.  26.     Card  used  in  keeping  a  record  of  transferred  folders. 


NUMERICAL  FILING  29 

dress  of  the  correspondent,  also  a  record  of  the  transfers  by  year, 
and  number  of  the  transfer  case  in  which  the  papers  are  to  be  found. 

It  will  be  noted  that  many  numbers  will  fall  into  disuse,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  firm  loses  correspondents  from  many  causes. 
It  is  a  common  practice  among  firms  using  the  numerical  system 
to  reassign  these  numbers  to  other  parties  or  firms  after  a  sufficient 
period  has  elapsed,  this  period  being  from  one  to  three  years.  This 
card  provides  for  that  contingency. 

The  numerical  filing  system  requires  more  recording  and  is 
less  rapid  in  reference  and  filing  than  any  other  system,  and  is  not 
to  be  recommended  or  used  for  general  commercial  work.  There 
are  a  few  instances,  however,  wherein  the  numerical  filing  system 
is  a  necessity. 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  V 
Numerical  Filing 

1 — For  what  lines  of  business  is  Numerical  Filing  best  adapted? 

2 — How  are  the  guides  arranged  in  the  Numerical  drawer? 
In  the  Direct  Number  system? 

3 — Explain  step  by  step  how  you  would  file  a  letter  by  this  method. 

4 — Explain  what  is  meant  by  cross-reference  indexing. 
Illustrate. 

5 — Mention   three  features  that  might  be  considered   disadvan- 
tages of  the  system. 

6 — State  why  it  is  necessary  to  use  a  card  file  in  connection  with 
the    large   vertical    drawer. 

7 — How  are  we  to  know  the  next  number  to  be  assigned? 

8 — Why  is  there  little  chance  to  misfile  one  of  the  folders? 

9 — Can  you  give  a  reason  why  we  should  assign  Mr.  Simms,  (Page 
26)  a  separate  card  just  as  we  have  done  with  the  Principal? 
Please  note  that  Card  A,  Figure  24  will  be  filed  according  to 
the  name  of  the  school,  not  by  the  President's  name. 
10 — How  is  a  Numerical  file  transferred? 


CHAPTER    VI 


Direct  Name  System 

In  our  study  of  alphabetical  filing  we  learned  of  the  simplicity 
of  the  method,  and  the  easy  way  in  which  letters  may  be  found. 
We  also  learned  that  in  case  of  a  large  correspondence  which  necess- 
itates the  use  of  an  elaborate  set  of  guides,  it  is  very  easy  to  mis- 
file  letters.  A  study  of  numerical  filing  has  proved  conclusively 
the  accuracy  of  the  system,  and  at  the  same  time  it  has  pointed 
out  the  inconvenience  of  a  separate  card  file. 

The  lesson  for  consideration  today  combines  the  good  feat- 
ures of  both  the  alphabetical  and  the  numerical  in  a  system  that 
is  rapidly  taking  the  place  of  other  methods.  This  is  known  as  the 
Direct  Name  system.  By  referring  to  the  accompanying  illus- 
tration, Figure  27,  as  each  phase  is  explained,  you  will  get  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  fundamental  principles.  Direct  Name  guides 
are  made  of  heavy  pressboard  with  celluloided  tabs,  thus  lending 
strength  and  durability  to  the  equipment.  The  tabs,  in  two  pos- 
itions, make  it  possible  to  locate  the  various  combinations  on  the 
tabs  without  loss  of  time.  Beginning  with  "A",  the  guides  are 
numbered  consecutively.  In  a  set  of  40  guides  the  numbers  run 
from  1  to  40.  If  we  were  using  a  set  having  80  parts,  the  numbers 
would  run  from  1  to  80,  etc. 

Value  of  Numerical  Feature 

At  the  left  of  the  drawer,  in  one  position,  are  the  tabs  of  the 
alphabetical  folders  for  miscellaneous  correspondence,  Figure  28. 
These  are  printed  in  red  and  numbered  just  the  same  as  the  guides 


FIG.  28.     Alphabetical  or  Miscellaneous  folder  used  in  Direct  Name  System. 

30 


DIRECT  NAME  SYSTEM 


31 


"Out"  Guide.    When  a  folder  Is 
removed  the  initials  of  person 


ing  it  is  written  on  an 
and   put  in  place    of 
That  shows  who  ia 
folders  removed. 


The   Direct  Name   Folders 
for   special     correspondence 
in  a  straight  row,    each 
n  guide.    Folders  are 
red,   a   check   against 
mis-niing.      All    folders    ex- 
neat  file. 


The  Direct  Name  Guide  is  mace 
of  pressboard  with  celluloided  tab. 
Odd  numbers  are  in  the  left  row. 
even  numbers  in  the  right--an  ad- 
ditional aid  to  quick  filing. 


The   Alphabetical-Numerical 
Folder  for  imsc< 
respondence.    Tl 
as  the  guides  in  transf 


FO  they  expand  when  filled. 


away  with 

the  usual  sagging  down 
and  the  tab 
at  full  height 


FIG.  27.     The  Direct  Name  System  combines  the  advantages  of  both  the  Alphabetical  and 

Numerical  methods. 


32  MODERN  FILING 


in  front  of  them.  This  means  that  each  folder  has  its  place  in  the 
drawer.  Direct  Name  folders  which  are  assigned  to  special  cor- 
respondents have  wide  tabs  at  the  right  of  the  drawer.  On  the 
tab  of  each  folder  is  the  name  and  also  the  number  of  the  corres- 
pondent, as  you  will  observe  from  Figure  29. 


FIG.  29.     Direct  Name  Folder.     One  is  made  out  for  each  important  correspondent. 

Now  let  us  see  .how  the  numerical  feature  assists  in  filing  the 
folders.  In  the  first  place,  a  great  saving  of  time  is  effected  as  it 
is  only  necessary  to  note  the  number  and  place  the  folder  back  of 
the  guide  bearing  that  number.  The  operation  is  facilitated  by 
the  fact  that  guide  tabs  with  odd  numbers,  are  in  one  row,  and  those 
with  even  numbers  are  in  another.  In  this  operation  it  has  not 
been  necessary  to  compare  the  name  on  the  folder  with  the  alpha- 
betical subdivision.  The  numerical  idea  also  makes  the  system 
accurate,  because  there  is  little  chance  of  error  in  comparing  the 
number  on  the  folder  with  the  number  on  the  guide.  And  even 
if  the  file  clerk  does  drop  a  folder  in  the  wrong  place,  the  mistake 
will  be  readily  detected  because  of  the  break  in  number  sequence. 

How  the  Tabs  are  Arranged 

In  examining  the  tabs  on  the  Alphabetical  and  Direct  Name 
folders  we  notice  they  are  of  the  same  height  as  the  guide  tabs. 
This  gives  two  additional  sign  posts.  The  tabs  on  the  folders 
occupy  first  and  last  positions,  while  the  guides  appear  in  second 
and  third  positions.  Thus  the  guide  tabs  do  not  in  any  way  hide 
the  folder  tabs,  which  stand  out  prominently  in  the  drawer.  In 
many  instances,  reference  is  made  direct  to  the  folders  without 
consulting  the  guides;  hence  the  title,  "Direct  Name  System". 

If  we  have  a  great  deal  of  correspondence  with  the  Burroughs 
Adding  Machine  Company,  we  soon  learn  the  position  of  the  folder 


DIRECT  NAME  SYSTEM 


33 


assigned  to  them,  just  as  we  learn  the  location  of  the  letter  "B" 
on  the  typewriter  keyboard  when  using  the  touch  system.  When 
a  special  folder  is  assigned,  as  it  would  be  in  this  instance,  it  is  placed 
in  front  of  the  miscellaneous  folder. 

Expansion  Provided  For 

With  this  system  it  is  possible  to  use  a  great  many  more  in- 
dividual name  folders  than  with  the  ordinary  alphabetical,  for  the 
reason  that  the  special  names  stand  out  conspicuously.  As  the 
system  grows,  new  name  folders  are  assigned  and  placed  back  of 
the  guides. 

Frequently  there  are  firms  whose  correspondence  will  more 
than  fill  a  separate  folder  in  the  course  of  a  year.  When  such  a 
condition  exists  a  guide  with  a  flat  metal  label  holder  is  provided, 
and  a  label  inserted  bearing  the  name  of  the  concern  and  the  number 
of  the  alphabetical  guide  behind  which  it  belongs.  Behind  this 
special  name  guide  the  correspondence  from  that  concern  is  filed 
in  monthly  folders,  one  folder  for  each  month.  See  Figure  30. 


FIG.  30.     Special  Name  Guide  and  Monthly  Folders  for  heavy  correspondence. 

Instead  of  keeping  all  the  correspondence  in  one  folder  which  would 
be  greatly  overcrowded,  it  is  distributed  through  twelve  folders. 
Each  of  the  twelve  monthly  folders  is  numbered  to  correspond  with 
the  guide. 

The  Red  "Out"  Guides 

When  a  folder  containing  correspondence  is  removed  from  the 
drawer,  the  file  clerk  indicates  on  the  red  tabbed  "Out"  guide  (see 
Figure  31)  the  date  of  its  removal,  and  also  designates  the  folder 
and  the  person  to  whom  it  has  been  sent.  The  guide  is  then  placed 
where  the  folder  belongs,  as  shown  in  Figure  27.  As  soon  as  the 


34  MODERN  FILING 


FIG.  31.     "Out"  Guide  placed  in  file  when  a  folder  is  removed  for  reference. 

folder  is  returned,  the  "OUT"  guide  is  removed  and  the  notation 
cancelled.  If  other  folders  have  been  called  for  in  the  meantime, 
they  are  treated  in  the  same  manner. 

Direct  Name  Transferring 

Just  as  in  an  ordinary  alphabetical  system,  the  Direct  Name 
System  of  transferring  requires  vertical  transfer  cases  made  drawer 
style.  The  actual  method  of  transferring  is  simplicity  itself.  All 
of  the  miscellaneous  folders  at  the  left  of  the  file,  Figure  28,  are 
removed  and  put  in  the  transfer  case.  All  of  the  special  Direct 
Name  folders  at  the  right  of  the  file,  Figure  29,  are  removed  at  the 
same  time  and  placed  in  their  alphabetical  positions  in  the  transfer 
case.  The  guides  are  left  in  the  drawer  to  index  new  correspon- 
dence. A  record  is  then  made  on  the  transfer  guide  which  is  in 
the  front  of  each  drawer,  just  as  in  the  ordinary  alphabetical  sys- 
tem; and  a  new  set  of  miscellaneous  folders  and  a  supply  of  Di- 
rect Name  folders  are  placed  in  the  active  file  to  take  care  of  in- 
coming correspondence. 

Reference  to  matter  in  the  transfer  case  is  simple,  as  the  mis- 
cellaneous alphabetical  folders  take  the  place  of  guides. 

The  Direct  Name  System  is  the  easiest  to  transfer.  It  is  also 
very  economical.  The  guides,  being  made  of  strong  pressboard 
with  celluloided  tabs,  may  be  used  for  years.  The  celluloid  keeps 
the  tabs  clean  and  prevents  wear  from  handling.  All  that  it  is  nec- 
essary to  purchase,  once  the  system  has  been  installed,  is  a  set  of 
alphabetical  folders  and  a  quantity  of  Direct  Name  folders,  each 
time  the  file  is  transferred.  The  expense  of  these  folders  is  small. 


DIRECT  NAME  SYSTEM  35 

QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER   VI. 
Direct  Name  System 

1 — What  two  methods  of  filing  are  combined  in  the  Direct  Name 
system  ? 

2 — How  are  the  guides  numbered  in  a  No.  120  Direct  Name  sys- 
tem? The  miscellaneous    folders?     The  Direct  Name  folders? 

3 — Contrast  the  operations  of  filing  and  finding  letters  by  this 
method.     How  can  a  misplaced  folder  be  easily  detected? 

4 — What  is  a  Direct  Name  folder?     When  is  it  used? 
Where  should  the  latest  paper  be? 

5 — Why  is  the  Direct  Name  system  so  called? 

6 — What  kind  of  correspondence  is  left  in  the  miscellaneous  or 
alphabetical  folders?     How  is  it  arranged? 

7 — What  shows  that  a  folder  has  been  removed  from  the  file? 

8 — Why  is  the  Direct  Name  system  more  economical  than  others? 

9 — How   can   we   provide   for   large  customers  whose  correspond- 
ence is  too  large  to  be  filed  in  a  single  folder? 

10 — Explain  the  method  of  transferring  by  the  Direct  Name  sys- 
tem.    What  guides  are  used  in  the  transfer  cases? 


CHAPTER    VII 

Geographical  Filing 

In  our  previous  study  of  indexing  methods  we  have  dealt  with 
names  and  numbers.  In  the  Alphabetical  and  Direct  Name  Sys- 
tems it  was  only  necessary  to  know  a  customer's  name  in  order 
to  file  or  find  his  letters.  The  same  was  true  of  the  Numerical 
System,  for  we  could  always  locate  the  customer's  number  by  look- 
ing up  his  name  in  the  card  index.  So  you  see  that  so  far  we 
have  really  been  considering  the  Name  method  of  filing. 

Now  we  come  to  something  entirely  different — filing  by  loca- 
tion. This  is  known  as  the  Geographical  Method.  In  this  method 
we  are  concerned  primarily  with  the  territorial  or  geographical 
division,  such  as  the  town,  county  or  state  in  which  a  customer 
lives;  and  secondarily  with  his  name. 

'Advantages  of  Location  Method 

In  this  system,  the  file  is  divided  into  convenient  units;  and 
all  information  regarding  a  town,  a  county,  or  a  state  is  concen- 
trated under  one  head.  This  enables  us  to  ascertain  the  business 
conditions  in  the  various  territories  in  which  we  sell.  For  in- 
stance, we  may  receive  a  large  number  of  inquiries  from  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  regarding  our  product.  If  these  letters  were  filed  al- 
phabetically we  might  not  notice  that  they  were  all  from  Cleve- 
land. But  with  the  geographical  method,  they  are  all  filed  to- 
gether; and  we  immediately  observe  that  there  is  much  activity 
in  this  portion  of  the  file.  We,  therefore,  decide  to  send  a  sales- 
man to  Cleveland  and  eventually  we  may  open  a  branch  office  there. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  letters  from  Cleveland  become  fewer 
and  fewer,  we  are  warned  by  our  Geographical  file  that  business 
must  be  decreasing  in  this  city.  So  we  may  decide  to  advertise 
in  the  Cleveland  newspapers  in  order  to  stimulate  business  there. 

It  is  evident  that  if  we  depend  on  our  correspondence  file  to 
furnish  information  regarding  sales  conditions  in  different  terri- 
tories, location  indexing  is  more  valuable  than  any  other  method. 
Another  advantage  of  this  system  is  that  you  can  add  new  guides 
and  folders  wherever  you  need  them.  It  is  thus  a  good  system 
for  a  rapidly  growing  file. 

36 


GEOGRAPHICAL  FILING 


37 


The  Basis  of  the  System 

The  simplest  form  of  Geographical  Filing  consists  of  a  set  of 
State  guides  with  tabs  in  the  center  as  illustrated  in  Figure  32. 
Back  of  each  guide  is  a  folder  for  the  correspondence  of  firms  lo- 
cated in  that  state.  Naturally  there  will  be  letters  from  several 
cities  in  this  folder,  and  they  must  be  classified  according  to  a  defi- 
nite plan.  They  are,  therefore,  arranged  alphabetically  by  towns. 
Then  there  will  be  letters  from  different  firms  in  the  same  town. 
These  will  be  placed  together  in  the  folder  arranged  in  alphabetical 
order  by  names. 


FIG.  32.     State  Guides  used  in  geographical  filing. 


Where  there  is  enough  correspondence  behind  any  one  State 
guide  to  warrant  it,  you  use  a  set  of  alphabetical  guides  for  index- 
ing by  towns.  Behind  each  alphabetical  guide  is  a  corresponding 
alphabetical  folder.  Thus  a  letter  from  Freeman  &  Co.,  Atlanta, 
Ga.,  is  filed  in  the  "A"  folder,  back  of  the  "A"  guide  in  the  Georgia 
division. 

If  the  volume  of  correspondence  from  Atlanta  becomes  large, 
we  assign  a  separate  folder  to  this  city,  and  file  it  back  of  the  "A" 
guide.  We  might  further  assign  a  separate  folder  to  Freeman  & 
Co.,  placing  it  in  the  same  division  of  the  file. 


38 


MODERN  FILING 


In  filing  by  this  method,  three  points  must  be  kept  clearly  in 
mind ;  that  the  first  classification  of  the  correspondence  is  by  states ; 
the  second,  by  towns;  and  the  third,  by  names. 

A  Second  Method 

For  rapidly  growing  correspondence  it  is  advisable  to  use  the 
indexing  scheme  shown  in  Figure  33.  You  will  notice  at  the  ex- 
treme left  are  the  state  guides,  while  the  alphabetical  guides  sub- 
dividing the  states  are  in  three  positions — left  center,  center  and 


FIG.  33.     Geographical  guide  arrangement  for  growing  file. 

right  center.  When  the  volume  of  correspondence  from  any  state 
is  very  large,  it  is  necessary  to  assign  individual  guides  to  the  diff- 
erent cities  having  a  large  number  of  correspondents.  These  ap- 
pear at  the  right  side  of  the  drawer.  It  will  be  observed  hat 
Bismarck  and  Fargo,  N.  Dak.,  have  both  a  guide  and  a  folder. 
New  town  guides  are  installed  as  the  business  may  require. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  FILING  39 

Should  the  number  of  correspondents  in  Bismarck  multiply 
until  the  letters  cannot  be  accommodated  in  a  single  folder,  a  set 
of  alphabetical  guides  is  placed  back  of  that  city  guide.  This 
makes  a  complete  index  for  the  correspondence  from  that  city 
alone.  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  alphabetical  method 
may  be  readily  used  in  connection  with  the  divisions  of  the  geo- 
graphical file. 

Its  Economic  Features 

When  filing  by  location,  it  is  possible  to  start  the  system  in 
a  very  modest  way  as  illustrated  in  Figure  32.  In  states  where 
the  correspondence  is  heavy,  a  set  of  A-Z  guides  is  placed  back 
of  the  state  guide.  It  is  very  likely  that  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months  a  single  guide  for  each  letter  of  the  alphabet  will  not  be 
sufficient  to  take  care  of  the  correspondence  in  a  given  state. 
When  this  condition  arises,  the  set  is  removed  and  a  larger  one 
put  in  its  place;  that  is,  a  set  having  40  or  more  parts.  But 
the  A-Z  guide  set  may  be  used  in  another  division  of  the  file,  for 
in  this  system  it  is  never  necessary  to  discard  any  of  the  original 
guides.  Further,  as  the  correspondence  increases  in  any  city,  a 
special  guide  is  made  out  for  that  city.  Later  on,  a  set  of  alpha- 
betical guides  may  be  needed  back  of  the  city  guide.  Thus  you 
will  see  that  the  system  is  very  elastic  and  accommodates  itself 
to  the  needs  of  the  business. 

How  Letters  Are  Filed 

We  will  assume  that  we  are  about  to  file  a  letter  from  G.  W. 
Fisher,  according  to  the  method  shown  in  Figure  33.  We  must 
first  know  his  location.  We  find  that  he  lives  in  Dayton,  O.  The 
first  operation  is  to  glance  along  the  row  of  State  guides  until  we 
come  to  Ohio.  Shifting  to  the  right  side,  we  notice  a  town  guide 
marked  "Dayton".  We  then  remove  the  folder  back  of  that  city 
and  file  the  letter.  Should  the  correspondence  received  from 
Dayton  be  of  sufficient  volume  to  justify  the  use  of  A-Z  guides, 
we  place  the  letter  to  be  filed  back  of  the  "F"  guide. 

If  Mr.  Fisher  lived  in  Zanesville,  Ohio,  we  should  see  at  a  glance 
that  no  special  city  guide  had  been  assigned.  Then  it  would  be 
necessary  to  place  the  letter  in  alphabetical  order  in  the  general 
folder  back  of  "Z". 


40 


MODERN  FILING 


The  Direct  Geographical  System 

This  is  another  variation  of  the  Geographical  method.  It  is 
especially  adapted  to  those  concerns  who  sell  entirely  through 
dealers.  It  provides  a  separate  division  of  the  file  for  each  indi- 
vidual town.  Thus  back  of  the  town  guide  will  be  concentrated 
all  correspondence  with  the  dealer  as  well  as  all  inquiries  from  con- 
sumers. 


FIG.  34.     Direct  Geographical  System  which  corresponds  to  the  Direct  Name  System  of  alpha- 
betical filing.     Note  set  of  alphabetical  guides  placed  back  of  the  "Albany"  guide. 

Figure  34  will  make  the  arrangement  clear.  The  State  guides 
all  have  tabs  in  the  center  of  the  drawer.  Back  of  each  State  guide 
is  a  collection  of  town  guides  in  two  rows  just  like  Direct  Name 
guides.  Note  also  the  town  folders  with  tabs  at  the  left  of  the 
drawer.  These  are  for  miscellaneous  correspondence.  The  reg- 
ular customers  all  have  Direct  Name  folders  with  right  hand  tabs 
bearing  the  names  and  addresses.  These  Direct  Name  folders  are 
placed  back  of  the  guides  for  the  towns  in  which  the  customers 
are  located. 

The  town  guides  and  the  folders  in  the  Direct  Geographical 
System  are  similar  to  Direct  Name  guides  and  folders. 

In  the  case  of  a  large  city  such  as  Albany,  a  set  of  Direct  Name 
guides  may  be  needed.  These  are  placed  back  of  the  Albany  guide 


GEOGRAPHICAL  FILING  41 

as  shown  in  Figure  34.  Thus,  once  you  have  located  the  Albany 
guide,  you  proceed  to  file  Albany  letters  just  as  in  the  Direct  Name 
System. 

Filing  by  Counties 

In  some  lines  of  business,  such  as  mail  order  houses  which 
sell  in  rural  communities,  it  is  found  most  convenient  to  file  cor- 
respondence by  counties.  A  set  of  State  guides  is  used,  with  county 
guides  back  of  each  State  guide.  In  counties  containing  large 
towns,  town  guides  may  also  be  used.  This  method  is  very  little 
different  from  the  ordinary  geographical  system.  The  principle 
is  the  same. 

Geographical     Transferring 

Vertical  transfer  cases  of  the  same  character  as  those  shown 
in  Chapter  4,  Figure  19,  are  used — usually  a  transfer  case  for  each 
vertical  drawer. 

In  most  cases  the  guides  in  the  current  or  original  file  are  made 
of  a  very  substantial  material  so  as  to  withstand  the  hard  usage 
of  an  active  file.  This  material  is  frequently  a  heavy  pressboard 
with  the  tabs  covered  with  celluloid,  or  with  the  tabs  made  of  metal. 
Such  material  is  necessarily  expensive;  and  as  guides  made  of  it 
last  several  years,  it  is  not  advisable  to  put  them  in  transfer  cases; 
so  a  cheap  manila  guide  is  substituted  in  the  transfer  case.  The 
folders  containing  the  papers,  however,  are  transferred  intact  and 
new  folders  must  be  secured  to  take  care  of  new  papers  in  the  cur- 
rent file. 

The  method  of  recording  the  transfer  is  just  as  in  the  alpha- 
betical system,  using  a  "Record  of  Transfers"  guide  in  each  drawer. 
The  entries,  however,  vary  to  suit  the  geographical  system.  Thus 
if  you  transferred  the  contents  of  the  drawer  in  Figure  33,  your 
entries  on  the  "Transfer"  guide  would  read:  "North  Dakota — Ohio, 
From  Jan  1,  1915  to  Dec.  31,  1915,  Transfer  Case  No.  1." 


42  MODERN  FILING 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  VII 
Geographical  Filing 

1 — Explain  the  underlying  principle  of  Geographical  Filing. 
2 — Name  two  distinct  advantages  of  the  system. 

3 — What  is  the  simplest  form  of  geographical  filing  for  corres- 
pondence from  domestic  customers? 

4 — How  may  the  State  guides  be  expanded? 

5 — In  filing  a  letter  in  a  Geographical  file  how  would  you  first 
classify  it?  What  would  be  your  second  and  third  classifi- 
cations? 

6 — When  is  it  necessary  to  use  town  guides? 

7 — Explain  in  detail  how  to  file  a  letter  from  Alfred  Pritchard, 
Mansfield,  Ohio,  using  the  arrangement  of  guides  shown  in 
Figure  33. 

8 — What  is  one  economic  feature  of    Geographical    Filing? 

9 — Explain  briefly  the  Direct  Geographical  System.  In  what 
way  does  this  resemble  the  Direct  Name  System  ? 

10 — How  is  a  Geographical  file  transferred? 


CHAPTER    VIII 

Subject  Filing 

Subject  filing  means  the  placing  together  of  all  papers  relating 
to  one  subject.  They  may  be  placed  together  in  a  separate  folder, 
a  separate  division  of  the  file,  a  separate  drawer  or  a  separate  series 
of  drawers,  as  the  quantity  of  papers  to  be  filed  necessitates.  To 
index  a  subject  Ale  so  that  its  contents  are  accessible  is  not  gen- 
erally difficult. 

The  Field  of  Subject  Indexing 

Subject  indexing  in  vertical  filing  has  a  limited  field;  and  is 
only  used,  or  to  be  recommended,  for  permanent  filing  of  general 
correspondence  in  special  cases,  usually  assisted  by  the  cross  in- 
dexing facilities  of  numerical  indexing.  Large  corporations,  such 


FIG.  35.     Subject  guides  for  Quotation  or  Data  File. 

as  railroads,  insurance  companies,  public  service  corporations,  and 
a  few  others,  use  subject  filing,  numerically  indexed,  to  advantage. 
The  most  general  use,  however,  found  for  subject  filing  is  in 
data  files,  wherein  information  is  being  collected  on  certain  sub- 
jects. For  example,  many  attorneys  maintain  a  data  file  in  which 

43 


44 


MODERN  FILING 


newspaper  and  magazine  clippings,  notes,  copies  of  briefs,  etc.,  are 
filed  away,  using  a  standard  index  to  the  field  of  legal  knowledge. 
Physicians,  dentists,  and  other  professional  men  do  likewise.  The 
separate  departments  of  large  businesses  keep  files  in  which  mat- 
ter relating  to  their  particular  fields  of  work  is  accumulated  for 
ready  reference.  In  sales  and  advertising  departments  these  are 
especially  common.  Subject  filing  is  very  widely  used  in  pur- 
chasing departments  for  keeping  quotations  on  kindred  articles 
together.  (See  Figure  35.) 

These  are  common  illustrations  of  the  most  general  uses  of 
subject  filing.  Many  variations  will  be  found  but  all  indexing 
can  be  done  on  the  same  general  principles. 

The  Methods  of  Indexing 

The  simplest  method  of  subject  indexing  in  vertical  filing  is  to 
use  a  simple  set  of  alphabetical  guides — one  guide  for  each  letter 
of  the  alphabet.  (Figure  17).  The  matter  to  be  filed  is  placed  in 


FIG.  36.     Guides  showing  simple  method  of  subject  indexing. 


SUBJECT  FILING  45 


a  vertical  folder,  the  folder  tab  is  marked  to  indicate  its  contents, 
and  then  it  is  placed  behind  the  correct  alphabetical  guide.  For 
instance,  a  physician  has  a  special  article  on  "Antidotes",  which 
he  has  clipped  from  a  medical  publication,  and  which  he  desires 
to  put  in  his  data  file.  In  a  simple  system  like  Figure  17,  he  would 
simply  write  "Antidotes"  on  the  tab  of  the  folder;  and  placing  his 
clipping  therein,  put  the  folder  behind  the  guide  "A".  As  new 
subjects  appear  the  same  procedure  would  be  followed. 

A  slight  variation  of  subject  indexing  is  shown  in  Figure  36. 
The  tabs  at  the  left  are  guides  and  the  actual  material  to  be  filed 
is  in  a  folder  behind  each  guide.  New  guides  are  added  as  new 
subjects  come  up.  Nearly  any  small  data  file  of  a  general  nature 
could  be  indexed  by  either  this  method  or  that  shown  in  Figure  17. 
In  subject  filing  where  the  accumulation  of  matter  is  voluminous, 
you  would  require  a  set  of  guides  or  an  index  in  which  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet  were  more  finely  divided. 

Subject  Filing  in  Purchasing  Departments 

The  purchasing  agent  in  a  firm  of  any  magnitude  is  continually 
corresponding  about  various  articles  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing 
them  at  the  present  time,  or  at  some  future  time,  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. To  that  end  it  is  necessary  that  he  have  all  quotations 
or  information  on  a  certain  subject  together.  Where  such  a  con- 
dition exists  the  direct  subject  indexing  arrangement,  as  shown  by 
Figure  35,  is  of  the  greatest  value. 

The  illustration  here  shows  a  small  portion  of  a  quotation 
file  or  a  data  file,  that  is  used  by  the  purchasing  department  of  a 
department  store  or  general  dry  goods  store.  This  system  is  rather 
extended  in  that  it  provides  a  separate  folder  for  every  correspond- 
ent. 

Thus  if  you  were  looking  for  Conway  Bros',  quotation  on 
calico,  it  would  be  found  in  the  folder  bearing  that  name,  back  of 
the  "Calico"  guide.  It  is  to  be  clearly  understood  that  this  method 
of  filing  is  merely  for  temporary  indexing,  that  is,  while  the  matter 
is  pending.  Just  as  soon  as  the  matter  is  closed,  the  papers  are 
to  be  redistributed  to  the  regular  and  permanent  system  of  filing,  be 
it  alphabetical  or  geographical. 

The  foregoing  illustrations  and  description  will  show  the  general 
principles  of  subject  filing;  and  while  only  a  few  specific  businesses 


46  MODERN  FILING 


are  mentioned,  the  methods  as  enumerated  can  be  applied  to  nearly 
any  problem  the  student  may  encounter.  We  give  below  a  con- 
crete illustration  of  a  system  of  subject  filing  actually  in  use. 

How  an  Editor  Uses  Subject  Filing 

This  editor  publishes  a  magazine  for  attorneys  and  has  the 
coming  issues  mapped  out  and  advertised  several  months  in  ad- 
vance. He  receives  a  great  deal  of  legal  data  and  also  manuscripts 
which  he  desires  to  preserve  by  subject.  Inasmuch  as  the  matter 
could  be  filed  under  a  well  defined  legal  index  employed  in  many 
departments  of  the  firm,  these  direct  subjects  are  placed  on  guides 
with  tabs  running  three  across,  similar  to  Figure  35.  The  editor 
receives  newspaper  clippings  on  legal  topics  from  several  clipping 
bureaus,  and  these  he  desires  to  index  also.  Each  clipping  is 
mounted  on  a  thin  sheet  of  paper  by  an  assistant  who  also  stamps  the 
mounting  sheet  with  a  rubber  stamp  reading: 

File  Under 

Main  Subject 

Sub-subject     

The  editor  indicates  the  subject  under  which  the  clipping  is 
to  be  filed  and  returns  it  to  his  assistant  for  filing.  Manuscripts 
on  legal  subjects  which  have  not  been  definitely  classified  as  to  the 
issue  in  which  they  will  appear  are  also  filed  by  this  subject  in- 
dex. 

The  Relation  of  Subject  Indexing  to  Alphabetical  Indexing 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  every  instance  where  subject  index- 
ing is  correctly  used,  the  principle  of  alphabetical  indexing  is  back 
of  the  whole  arrangement,  in  that  the  main  subjects  and  sub- 
subjects  under  main  subjects  are  arranged  as  nearly  as  possible 
in  alphabetical  order. 

Transferring  a  Subject  File 

Where  it  is  necessary  to  transfer  a  subject  file,  all  guides, 
folders  and  filed  matter  are  removed  to  the  transfer  case  just  as 
they  were  in  the  original  file.  The  subject  file  is  not,  however, 
very  often  transferred.  It  is  sometimes  a  temporary  file,  as  in 


SUBJECT  FILING  47 


the  case  of  the  Purchasing  Agent;  and  the  individual  papers  are 
removed  and  sent  to  the  general  office  file  as  soon  as  they  have 
served  their  purpose.  On  the  other  hand,  the  subject  file  is  fre- 
quently used  as  a  reference  library,  containing  data  and  clippings. 
In  this  case  its  contents  are  never  transferred,  but  are  allowed  to 
accumulate  and  new  equipment  is  added  from  time  to  time. 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  VIII 
Subject  Filing 

1 — What  is  meant  by  subject  filing? 

2 — Is  direct  subject  indexing  without  the  aid   of  numerical   in- 
dexing to  be  recommended  for  general  correspondence  filing? 

3 — What  is  the  greatest  field  for  direct  subject  indexing? 

4 — Name   four  instances  wherein  subject  indexing  can  be   used 
to   advantage. 

5 — What  is   the  simplest  arrangement  of  guides  for  subject  in- 
dexing?    Describe  briefly  the  method  of  filing. 

6 — For  what  purpose  is  subject  filing  used  frequently  in  purchas- 
ing departments?     Describe   the   method. 

7 — What  general  character  of  papers  accumulate  in  a  data  file? 

8 — What  kind  of  a  set  of  guides  would  you  use  where  the  subject 
matter  to  be  filed  is  voluminous? 

9 — What  would  you  do  with  correspondence  that  had  been  filed 
by  subject  while  pending,  but  had  been  closed  or  settled? 

10 — In  what  way   does   subject   indexing  depend   on   alphabetical 
indexing? 


CHAPTER     IX 

Follow-  Up 

Follow-up  is  known  by  various  terms.  "Tickler,"  "Jogger," 
"Calendar,"  "Every  Day  File,"  "Pending  File,"  "Dates  Ahead 
File,"  are  some  of  the  terms  commonly  applied  to  it.  As  generally 
understood  in  the  business  world,  "Follow-Up"  means  a  method 
by  which  matters  for  future  consideration  can  be  automatically 
and  unfailingly  brought  to  attention  at  the  proper  time.  Hardly 
a  business  office  exists  wherein  a  follow-up  system  of  some  char- 
acter is  not  an  absolute  necessity. 

Where  Follow-Up  is  Generally   Used 

Probably  its  greatest  use  is  in  sales  work  for  keeping  in  touch 
with  prospective  purchasers.  A  prospective  buyer  in  business  is 
termed  a  "Prospect",  and  most  "prospects"  are  followed  up.  The 
method  employed  may  vary  considerably,  and  may  be  operated 
by  a  card  system  or  a  vertical  system,  or  such  combination  of 
the  two  as  the  condition  requires.  A  few  other  common  uses  of 
follow-up  are  as  follows:  in  credit  departments  for  collecting  de- 
linquent accounts;  in  purchasing  departments  for  following  up 
shipments  of  goods  ordered;  and  in  general  office  work  for  the 
many  incidental  things  which  must  be  taken  care  of  at  a  certain 
time. 

The  Methods  Employed 

In  this  portion  of  the  course  we  will  consider  only  "vertical 
follow-up",  leaving  the  description  of  "card  follow-up"  systems  for 
Chapter  XII.  A  vertical  follow-up  system  can  be  operated  in  con- 
nection with  any  of  the  three  standard  methods  of  vertical  filing, 
alphabetical,  geographical  or  subject.  It  is  most  commonly  used  in 
connection  with  the  alphabetical  system,  however,  the  method  being 
called  "alphabetical  follow-up". 

Alphabetical  Follow-Up 

The  rule  to  remember  in  alphabetical  follow-up  is  this.  File 
the  copy  of  your  last  letter,  or  memorandum,  by  date,  and  the 

48 


FOLLOW-UP 


49 


balance  of  your  correspondence  alphabetically  by  name.  This 
method  requires  a  set  of  monthly  guides  from  January  to  December, 
one  or  more  sets  of  daily  guides  from  1  to  31,  one  for  each  day  of 
the  month,  and  a  set  of  alphabetical  guides, — all  as  shewn  in  Figure 
37.  These  are  all  placed  in  a  vertical  file  drawer  with  a  folder 


FIG.  37.     Showing  arrangement  of  guides  required  in  a  follow-up  system. 

behind  each  guide.  With  this  arrangement  of  guides  and  folders 
you  are  prepared  to  start  your  follow-up  system  for  sales,  credits, 
or  what  not.  As  a  concrete  illustration,  let  us  suppose  ourselves 
to  be  the  sales  department  of  a  business  firm  which  has  received 
a  letter  from  John  Yates,  Ltd.,  asking  for  a  quotation  on  our  pro- 
duct. We  dictate  our  reply  on  May  5th,  the  stenographer  making 
a  carbon  copy  of  it,  which  is  attached  to  the  original  letter  from 
our  "prospect"  and  placed  on  the  dictator's  desk  for  disposal. 

You  decide  that  if  John  Yates,  Ltd.  has  not  replied  to  your 
quotation  by  May  21st,  you  will  write  him  again.  In  other  words, 
you  will  follow  him  up  on  May  21st.  You  stamp  your  follow-up 
stamp  on  the  face  of  the  original  letter  and  enter  the  follow-up 
date.  See  Figure  3 7 A.  The  follow-up  date  is  also  jotted  down  in 
the  lower  left  hand  corner  of  the  copy.  The  original  letter  and 
copy  are  separated,  the  original  being  filed  in  the  folder  behind 


50 


MODERN  FILING 


the  "Y"  guide,  and  the  reply  or  follow-up  copy  filed  by  follow-up 
date,  May  21st,  as  indicated  by  the  illustration.  We  are  now 
prepared  to  follow  the  matter  up.  It  is  the  stenographer's  duty 


FIG.    37A.     Showing   how    simple   it    is    to    locate   correspondence   when    either    the   name   or 

follow-up  date  is  known. 

to  remove  all  memoranda,  copies  of  letters,  etc.,  from  the  folder 
behind  the  daily  guide  on  the  morning  of  every  day.  Thus  on  the 
morning  of  the  21st  she  takes  all  the  papers  from  behind  the  guide 
marked  "21",  among  them  a  copy  of  your  letter  to  John  Yates, 
Ltd.  She  gets  the  balance  of  the  correspondence  from  behind  the 
"Y"  guide;  and  attaching  the  copy,  places  it  on  your  desk 
for  attention.  All  the  other  papers  for  attention  on  that  date 
are  likewise  disposed  of.  On  the  other  hand,  should  you  receive 
a  reply  to  the  John  Yates,  Ltd.,  letter  before  May  21st,  it  is  a  simple 
matter  to  locate  your  copy.  Reference  to  the  original  letter  be- 
hind the  "Y"  guide  shows  the  follow-up  date  to  be  the  21st,  which 
refers  you  to  the  copy  of  your  letter  behind  the  guide  "21". 

When  you  have  only  one  paper  to  follow  up,  it  is  a  simple 
matter  to  make  a  memo  bearing  the  name  and  date,  filing  it  by 
follow-up  date,  and  filing  your  original  paper  by  name.     For  in- 
stance, you  may  receive  a  letter  which  does  not  require  an  answer, 
yet  one  that  you  want  to  follow  up  at  a  future  date.     As  you  have 


FOLLOW-UP  51 


no  copy,  you  must  make  a  memo  for  follow-up  purposes.  Some- 
times it  is  not  necessary  to  have  an  alphabetical  cross  reference  to 
certain  matters  in  the  follow-up  file,  and  in  such  a  case  simply 
place  the  paper  behind  its  correct  follow-up  date. 

Matter  for  attention  more  than  a  month  in  advance  is  simply 
placed  behind  the  guide  for  that  month,  and  redistributed  ac- 
cording to  date  at  the  beginning  of  that  month.  The  monthly 
guides  in  turn  are  placed  before  the  daily  guides  each  month, 
the  31  daily  guides  always  representing  the  current  month. 

Frequently  the  amount  of  follow-up  is  so  large  that  a  simple 
set  of  alphabetical  guides  as  shown  in  Figure  37  is  not  subdivided 
enough  to  suitably  index  it.  In  that  case  a  larger  or  more  finely 
divided  index  is  necessary.  For  example,  a  set  like  that  shown 
in  Figure  18. 

Geographical  Follow-  Up 

Inasmuch  as  geographical  filing  is  used  to  a  great  extent  in 
sales  departments,  there  is  of  necessity  a  great  quantity  of  follow- 
up  letters.  Successive  letters  are  written  at  short  intervals  in  an 
effort  to  sell  the  prospect  something  before  giving  up  and  closing 
the  correspondence.  In  operating  a  geographical  follow-up, 
in  which  the  correspondence  is  filed  by  state  and  town,  a  set  of 
daily  guides  with  a  folder  behind  each  guide  is  placed  in  the  front 
of  the  file.  The  correspondence,  with  the  exception  of  the  copy 
of  the  last  letter  written  to  the  prospective  purchaser,  is  filed  by 
town  name  with  a  notation  of  the  follow-up  date  thereon,  just  as 
in  the  alphabetical  follow-up  system  herein  described. 

A  set  of  31  daily  guides  placed  in  the  front  of  the  drawer  shown 
in  Figure  33  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  equip  it  for  follow-up  purposes. 

Subject  Follow- Up 

Subject  follow-up  is  not  very  frequently  used,  but  if  better 
understood  might  save  considerable  work  in  special  instances.  A 
purchasing  agent  using  a  subject  index  as  shown  in  Figure  35, 
Chapter  VIII,  could  easily  operate  a  follow-up  file  in  connection  with 
it  without  disturbing  his  quotation  material.  A  set  of  31  daily 
guides  placed  in  the  front  of  the  drawer,  with  his  main  corres- 
pondence filed  by  subject  and  the  copy  of  his  last  letter  by  date, 
would  accomplish  that  result. 


52  MODERN  FILING 


Other  Methods 

A  thorough  knowledge  of  the  foregoing  will  enable  the  student 
of  filing  to  understand  the  standard  methods  of  vertical  follow- 
up.  Variations  of  these  methods  will  be  found  and  can  be  readily 
grasped  if  the  fundamentals  as  outlined  in  this  lesson  are  clearly 
understood.  The  importance  of  this  subject  should  not  be  under- 
estimated. 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  IX 

Follow-  Up 

1 — What  is  a  follow-up  system? 

2 — What  are  some  of  the  common  terms  applied  to  a  follow-up 
file? 

3 — Name  3  kinds  of  work  in  a  business  office  that  require  a  follow- 
up  system.  What  is  the  most  important? 

4 — What  sort  of  a  container  is  found  behind  each  guide  in  every 
follow-up  system  described  in  the  lesson? 

5 — Suppose  you  have  been  corresponding  for  some  time  with 
Samuels,  Jacobs  &  Co.,  accumulating  about  15  letters  and 
replies.  You  write  a  letter  on  May  3rd  which  you  desire  to 
follow  on  May  20th.  Explain  the  procedure  in  separating, 
marking,  and  filing  all  papers. 

6 — How  would  you  locate  the  complete  correspondence  with  Sam- 
uels, Jacobs  &  Co.,  should  they  write  you  before  May  20th? 

7 — Which  method  of  vertical  follow-up  would  you  recommend 
for  general  use?  Where  use  a  geographical  follow-up?  A 
subject  follow-up? 

8 — How  would  you  provide  for  following  a  letter  which  had  no 
answer? 

9 — Clarkson  &-Sons,  Inc.,  of  Mansfield,  O.,  write  for  a  quotation. 
Their  letter  is  answered  on  the  8th  of  the  month,  and  is  to  be 
followed  up  on  the  18th.  Explain  the  separation,  marking, 
and  filing  of  the  papers  according  to  geographical  follow-up 
as  shown  by  Figure  33. 

10 — Where  can  subject  follow-up  be  used?  Explain  the  method 
briefly. 


CHAPTER    X 

Copying  Outgoing  Papers 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  why  it  was  almost  an  impossibility 
for  great  corporations  to  exist  before  the  20th  Century.  To  main- 
tain intelligently  a  big  corporation,  or  combination  of  corpora- 
tions, in  those  days  would  have  been  a  most  unwieldy  task,  owing 
to  the  inadequate  methods  of  collecting  and  keeping  the  necessary 
records.  The  big  corporation  has  been  made  possible  by  the  won- 
derful progress  made  in  the  methods  of  maintaining  records. 

To  keep  a  copy  of  outgoing  papers  in  those  days  meant  labor- 
iously copying  the  original  document  in  long  hand.  For  this  pur- 
pose an  amanuensis  was  usually  employed.  Consider  the  task 
of  copying  in  long  hand  the  hundreds  of  letters  and  orders  written 
every  day  in  the  large  modern  office. 

The  absolute  necessity  for  keeping  copies  of  all  outgoing  pa- 
pers in  modern  business  practice  is  not  to  be  questioned.  Busi- 
ness has  become  so  complex  and  the  pitfalls  for  the  unwary  so 
numerous  that  a  complete,  accurate,  immediately  accessible  re- 
cord of  every  transaction  must  be  kept.  To  do  without  is  lax 
business,  and  can  only  result  in  an  eventual  serious  inconvenience 
for  the  individual  who  persists  in  it. 

The  three  common  present  day  methods  of  keeping  copies  of 
outgoing  papers  are  the  following  : 

Tissue  Copy  Book  and  Letter  Press. 

Rapid    Roller   Copier. 

Carbon    Paper. 

We  will  consider  each  of  these  methods,  as  to  advantages  and 
disadvantages,  first  as  individual  methods,  and  then  in  their  re- 
lation to  filing  systems. 

The  Tissue  Copy  Book  and  Letter  Press 

This  probably  was  the  first  method  used,  following  the  actual 
duplication  of  records  in  long  hand.  Its  place  in  modern  business 
is  generally  confined  to  the  smaller  offices,  or  to  offices  where  old 
fashioned  methods  are  still  used  from  choice.  This  method  of 
maintaining  copies  of  outgoing  papers  requires  that  the  original 
paper  be  written  with  copying  ink,  a  typewriter  with  a  copying 

53 


54 


MODERN  FILING 


ribbon,  or  with  an  indelible  pencil.  The  actual  copying  is  done 
by  bringing  the  original  paper  in  contact  with  a  moistened  sheet 
under  compression.  These  moistened  sheets  are  of  a  fine  grade 
of  tissue  paper  and  are  put  up  in  bound  books  of  from  300  to  500 
pages. 


FIG.  38. 


A  common  kind  of  copying  book,  used  in  connection  with  letter  press   illustrated 
in  FIG.  39. 


Figure  38  is  an  illustration  of  a  common  kind  of  a  copying 
book.  To  secure  compression,  this  book,  after  the  original  let- 
ters are  arranged  in  copying  order,  is  placed  in  a  letter  press  as 
shown  in  Figure  39;  and  pressure  is  brought  to  bear  by  revolving 
the  press  handle.  The  proper  degree  of  compression  is  soon 
learned,  as  too  much  compression  results  in  blurred  copies  and 
blurred  originals,  while  too  little  compression  results  in  faint 
copies  in  the  letter  book.  The  actual  method  of  copying  is  simple 
and  we  will  not  take  time  to  describe  it  here. 

The  materials  used  are  oiled  sheets  to  keep  the  moisture  from 
penetrating  from  one  batch  of  correspondence  to  another;  damp 
cloths,  which  are  kept  in  a  copying  bath;  and  blotting  sheets, 
which  are  placed  between  the  leaves  after  the  originals  are  removed, 
to  dry  the  leaves  in  the  copy  book. 


FIG.  39.     Letter-press  used  in  securing  copies  of  out-going  correspondence. 


COPYING  OUTGOING  PAPERS 


55 


It  will  be  seen  that  copies  of  letters  or  papers  follow  one  an- 
other in  the  order  of  date.  An  index  to  the  contents  of  the  book 
is  maintained  by  an  indexing  arrangement  in  the  back  in  which 
the  name  of  each  customer  is  entered  once,  and  following  the  name, 
the  numbers  of  all  the  pages  on  which  papers  for  this  customer 
have  been  copied.  The  copy  book  or  letter  press  method  has  no 
merits  or  advantages  as  an  individual  system,  and  it  cannot  be 
used  to  advantage  with  any  modern  system  of  filing.  It  will  be 
readily  seen  that  it  is  awkward  to  refer  to  correspondence  from 
customers,  which  is  in  the  file,  and  then  to  your  answers,  which 
are  distributed  throughout  the  copy  book.  The  correspondence 
to  and  from  one  person  is  not  arranged  together  and  hence  ref- 
erence to  correspondence  pertaining  to  a  matter  that  covers  a 
lengthy  period  of  time  is  awkward  and  inconvenient. 

In  any  instance  where  a  copying  book  is  in  use,  it  could  be 
advantageously  replaced  by  the  Rapid  Roller  Copier,  or  by  the 
Carbon  Paper  method. 

The  Rapid  Roller  Copier  Method 

This  method  also  requires  the  use  of  dampened  tissue  paper, 
which  is  supplied  in  a  continuous  roll.  It  first  passes  through 
a  water  bath  which  moistens  it  evenly  and  thoroughly,  then  through 


FIG.  40.  Rapid  Roller  Copier.  This  method  does  away  with  copy  book  and  letter  press. 
Copies  are  made  after  letter  is  signed  and  all  corrections  made,  so  that  copy  is 
an  exact  facsimile  of  letter. 


56 


MODERN  FILING 


rubber  wringing  rollers,  which  reduce  the  moisture  to  a  proper 
copying  consistency,  and  finally  comes  in  contact  with  the  letter 
itself  under  the  compression  of  a  revolving  copying  roller.  It  is 
then  wound  upon  a  drying  reel.  All  of  this  is  accomplished  by  a 
machine  called  a  Rapid  Roller  Copier,  illustrated  in  Figure  40. 


FIG.  41.     Cross  section  of  Rapid  Roller  Copier  shown  in  Figure  40.     Very  simple  in  operation. 

Reference  to  Figure  41  will  show  just  how  the  paper  travels 
through  the  machine  and  how  it  comes  in  contact  with  the  original 
letter.  The  operator  inserts  the  letter  under  the  copying  roller; 


FIG.  42.     Method  of  inserting  letter  in  Copier. 


COPYING  OUTGOING  PAPERS  57 

and  by  turning  the  crank,  rolls  the  original  letter  into  the  receiving 
basket,  while  the  copy  has  been  transferred  to  the  continuous 
roll  of  copying  paper,  Figure  42. 

The  paper  on  the  reel  dries  in  a  very  short  time,  and  is  then 
disconnected  just  above  the  last  letter  on  the  reel.  The  con- 
tinuous strip  is  brought  up  at  the  back  of  the  copier  and  passed 
under  the  cutting  knife.  Here  the  copies  are  cut  apart  and  are 
then  ready  for  filing. 

Original  papers  to  be  copied  must  be  written  with  copying 
ink,  on  a  typewriter  with  a  copying  ribbon,  or  with  an  indelible 
pencil. 

The  advantage  claimed  for  this  machine  is  that  it  makes 
exact  duplicates.  All  corrections,  whether  made  on  the  type- 
writer, with  an  indelible  pencil,  or  with  ink,  show  on  the  copy,  as 
the  final  operation  before  sending  the  letter  to  the  customer  is 
to  copy  it  on  the  Rapid  Roller  Copier.  It  is  also  claimed  to  be 
cheaper  than  any  other  method  of  copying  in  actual  materials 
consumed,  and  is  said  to  save  a  great  deal  of  the  stenographer's 
time,  which  is  considerably  more  valuable  than  that  of  the  office 
boy  by  whom  the  work  is  done. 

This  method  of  retaining  copies  of  outgoing  papers  is  modern, 
and  will  work  satisfactorily  with  any  modern  system  of  filing, 
inasmuch  as  copies  are  individual  units  and  can  be  filed  with  the 
papers  to  which  they  refer.  This  point  is  of  great  importance, 
viz :  that  all  copies  of  replies  be  filed  with  the  original  letters. 


The  Carbon  Paper  Method 

This  method  does  not  require  the  use  of  copying  ink,  an  in- 
delible pencil,  or  a  copying  ribbon.  Copies  are  made  by  the  use 
of  carbon  paper,  which  is  a  tough  thin  paper,  with  a  coating  of 
copying  compound,  which  is  transferred  to  the  second  sheet  or 
copy  by  direct  contact  at  the  time  the  original  paper  is  written. 
Different  kinds  of  carbon  papers  are  manufactured  for  use  with 
pencils,  pens,  and  typewriters,  respectively. 

Carbon  copies  are  in  most  general  use  because  of  their  sim- 
plicity and  handiness.  The  system  produces  a  uniform  size  of 
copy  and  does  not  cause  any  delay  in  getting  out  the  mail,  as  do 
the  two  other  methods. 


58  MODERN  FILING 


Its  adaptability  to  any  size  of  business  is  another  great  point 
in  its  favor.  Regardless  of  how  small  or  how  large  a  business 
may  be,  its  outgoing  papers  may  be  advantageously  copied  by 
the  carbon  system.  The  only  two  points  of  disadvantage  that  it 
presents  are  the  difficulty  in  making  corrections  and  its  expense. 
This  latter  point  of  disadvantage,  however,  is  more  than  coun- 
terbalanced by  its  many  advantages. 

The  carbon  method  of  retaining  copies  of  outgoing  corres- 
pondence, producing,  as  it  does,  individual  and  separate  copies, 
will  operate  satisfactorily  with  any  modern  filing  system. 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  X 
Copying  Outgoing  Papers 

1 — Why  is  it  necessary  to  keep  copies  of  outgoing  letters? 

2 — (a)     How  many  common  methods  of  keeping  these  copies  are 

in   use   today  ? 
(b)     What   are   they? 

3 — What  was   the  method  used   before   these  came  into  common 
practice  ? 

4 — Describe  briefly  the  first  method. 

5 — Explain  the  principle  of  the  second  method. 

6 — Describe  the  third  method. 

7 — Which  do  you  think  is  the  best  method  and  why  ? 

8 — Name  two  disadvantages  of  each  of  the  methods. 

9 — What   particular   feature   is   required   in  any  method  of  keep- 
ing copies  of   outgoing  papers   to  make  it  adaptable  to  filing? 

10 — What   is    the  advantage   in    filing   copies  of   outgoing    letters 
with  the  original  letters? 


CHAPTER    XI 

Card  Record  Systems 

Card  Record  Systems  form  a  very  important  part  of  modern 
record  keeping.  The  business  man  who  is  his  own  manager,  book- 
keeper and  office  boy  uses  card  systems.  The  largest  of  business 
enterprises  use  them  in  every  department.  An  enumeration  of 
the  card  systems  in  use  is  utterly  impossible.  Were  such  knowl- 
edge obtainable  today  it  would  be  of  no  value  tomorrow  because 
new  uses  for  cards  are  being  originated  every  day.  Therefore  in 
taking  up  this  subject  of  Card  Record  Systems,  we  shall  have  to 
deal  generally  with  the  principles  involved  in  indexing,  and  with 
a  few  specific  records  by  which  these  general  principles  may  be 
illustrated. 

Indexing,  whether  it  applies  to  card  record  systems  or  filing 
systems    for   business    papers,    is    fundamentally    the    same.     The 
three  general  methods  of  indexing  card  records  are  as  follows: 
By   Name 
By   Location 
By     Subject. 

A  card  index  guide  is  that  part  of  the  file  which  indexes  it. 
This  guide,  like  the  vertical  guide,  ordinarily  bears  a  little  projec- 
tion at  the  top  called  a  tab,  on  which  the  indexing  classification 
is  written  or  printed.  Card  guides  are  tabbed  1  cut,  1/2  cut, 
1/3  cut,  1/4  cut  or  1/5  cut,  according  to  the  width  of  tab  desired. 
Reference  to  Figure  15,  Chapter  III,  will  refresh  your  memory  on 
the  subject  of  tabs. 

The  manufacturers  of  card  index  supplies  have  standardized 
the  sizes  of  cards  and  guides,  and  a  great  proportion  of  all  card  index 
records  will  be  found  to  be  of  these  sizes.  The  standard  sizes, 
width  being  given  first  and  height  next,  are  as  follows:  5x3,  6x4, 
8x5,  and  5x8. 

Guides  are  made  of  many  colors  and  qualities  of  material, 
the  colors  being  used  to  indicate  separate  classifications  as  a  rule, 
and  the  quality  of  the  material  depending  upon  the  amount  of 
usage  the  record  is  to  receive. 

The  actual  record  indexed  by  these  guides  is  on  cards  filed 
behind  them.  In  a  great  majority  of  cases  these  records  will  be 
confined  to  the  sizes  specified  above,  yet  they  sometimes  run  in 

59 


60  MODERN  FILING 


larger  sizes,  such  as  9x6,  also  letter  size,  which  is  11-3/4  x  9-1/2 
and  cap  size,  which  is  15x9-1/2.  It  is  necessary  in  making  a  card 
system  to  see  that  we  adhere  to  standard  sizes,  otherwise  we  shall 
be  put  to  needless  expense  in  cabinets  in  which  to  keep  our  records, 
and  guides  with  which  to  index  them. 


The  Development  of  Card  Records 

As  we  have  previously  stated,  card  records  are  now  used  in 
every  line  of  business.  Probably  their  first  general  use  was  in 
libraries,  where  they  were  employed  to  index  subject  matter;  and 
they  are  now  universally  used  in  libraries,  as  the  library  "catalog". 
From  here  they  found  their  way  into  the  business  world  where 
their  great  popularity  is  due  to  several  features  which  cannot  be 
obtained  in  any  other  method  of  record  keeping.  Probably  the 
most  important  things  in  favor  of  the  card  system  are  (1)  its  index- 
ing adaptability,  (2)  its  capacity  for  expansion,  and  (3)  the  ease 
with  which  dead  matter  is  eliminated. 

As  an  example  of  the  first  advantage,  let  us  suppose  that  a 
record  were  indexed  alphabetically  and  later  it  developed  that 
this  record  could  best  be  maintained  to  advantage  if  it  were  in- 
dexed geographically.  By  simply  rearranging  the  cards  and  in- 
troducing a  new  set  of  geographical  guides,  this  could  be  accom- 
plished. On  the  other  hand,  if  a  bound  book  were  used,  this  change 
could  not  be  made  except  by  re-writing  the  entire  record. 

As  an  example  of  expansion,  suppose  that  a  record  were  started 
in  a  book  which  it  quickly  outgrew.  To  continue  your  system 
you  must  use  another  book  or  re-write  your  first  record  in  a  larger 
book.  On  the  other  hand,  the  card  system  would  permit  of  un- 
limited expansion  by  the  introduction  of  a  larger  set  of  guides 
without  disturbing  the  original  arrangement. 

To  show  how  dead  matter  is  eliminated,  we  can  refer  to  a 
ledger  system.  Many  accounts  become  "dead"  for  many  reasons, 
and  if  some  provision  is  not  made  for  their  immediate  removal, 
they  are  kept  as  "dead  wood"  in  the  record.  In  a  card  system, 
this  "dead  wood"  is  eliminated  by  simply  removing  the  cards 
to  another  file.  This  is  described  in  greater  detail  in  Chapter  XIV. 


CARD  RECORD  SYSTEMS 


61 


The  Security  of  Card  Records 

The  security  of  card  records  has  become  an  established  fact. 
In  1913  the  U.  S.  Government  Commission  on  Economy  and  Efficien- 
cy, in  reporting  to  the  President  their  findings,  made  this  statement: 

"The  safety  of  records  compiled  on  cards  has  been  thoroughly 
tested  by  every  variety  of  business  and  found  wholly  satisfactory 
in  that  respect.  While  it  is  admitted  that  cards  may  be  lost, 
misplaced,  and  even  destroyed  by  careless  or  unscrupulous  clerks, 
it  is  not  believed  that  such  clerks  will  be  given  the  care  of  records 
even  in  bound  books." 

Methods  of  Indexing 

In  Figure  43  we  are  shown  a  set  of  plain  alphabetical  card 
index  guides;  and  in  Figure  44,  a  subdivided  set.  This  illustrates 


FIG.   43.     Set   of   25   Card  Index  Guides.     Note   there 

alphabet,  except  X. 


one   guide   for   each   letter   of    the 


the  ease  with  which  big  card  records  can  be  indexed  alphabetically. 
These  subdivided  indexes  may  be  obtained  divided  very  minutely, 
some  sets  containing  as  high  as  8000  subdivisions  of  the  alphabet. 
These  subdivisions  are  determined  by  taking  great  quantities  of 
names  and  carefully  compiling  the  relative  values  of  the  first  four 
or  five  letters  of  the  names. 

We  also  find  in  Figures  45  and  46,  two  examples  of  geographical 
indexing.  The  first  illustration  shows  a  State  divided  geograph- 
ically by  towns,  the  other  one  a  State  divided  by  counties.  These 


62 


MODERN  FILING 


FIG.  44.     A  sub-divided  set  of  alphabetical  guides. 

are  merely  illustrations  of  fundamental  principles  of  indexing,  and 
the  student  will  find  in  practice  that  there  are  many  variations 
and  arrangements  of  guides  for  any  of  the  three  general  principles. 


FIG.  45.     Town  guides  used  in  geographical  filing. 


CARD  RECORD  SYSTEMS 


63 


FIG.  46.     Arrangement  of  guides  dividing  a  certain  state  by  counties. 

We  will  now  study  a  few  specific  systems,  illustrating  prin- 
ciples of  indexing  and  record  keeping  on  cards. 

Record  of  Quotations 

The  buying  of  materials  is  a  matter  of  importance  with  any 
firm.  If  done  carelessly  and  without  comparative  records,  a  con- 
siderable loss  may  be  incurred.  To  provide  against  careless  pur- 
chasing, records  must  be  kept;  and  the  following  records  are  ex- 
amples of  this  kind. 

In  this  particular  case  our  system  is  a  record  of  "Quotations 
Given"  and  "Quotations  Received".  Card  records  are  usually 
kept  in  card  cabinets;  and  as  we  have  two  records  to  keep,  we  will 
use  a  two-drawer  cabinet,  like  the  illustration  in  Figure  47. 


FIG.  47.     Card  Index  Cabinet  with  two  drawers. 

Upon  opening  one  drawer  we  find  an  arrangement  of  cards 
and  guides  as  illustrated  in  Figure  No.  48.  This  record  is  indexed 
by  subject,  as  we  are  interested  in  finding  records  of  articles  that 


62 


MODERN  FILING 


FIG.  44.     A  sub-divided  set  of  alphabetical  guides. 

are  merely  illustrations  of  fundamental  principles  of  indexing,  and 
the  student  will  find  in  practice  that  there  are  many  variations 
and  arrangements  of  guides  for  any  of  the  three  general  principles. 


FIG.  45.     Town  guides  used  in  geographical  filing. 


CARD  RECORD  SYSTEMS 


63 


FIG.  46.     Arrangement  of  guides  dividing  a  certain  state  by  counties. 

We  will  now  study  a  few  specific  systems,  illustrating  prin- 
ciples of  indexing  and  record  keeping  on  cards. 

Record  of  Quotations 

The  buying  of  materials  is  a  matter  of  importance  with  any 
firm.  If  done  carelessly  and  without  comparative  records,  a  con- 
siderable loss  may  be  incurred.  To  provide  against  careless  pur- 
chasing, records  must  be  kept;  and  the  following  records  are  ex- 
amples of  this  kind. 

In  this  particular  case  our  system  is  a  record  of  "Quotations 
Given"  and  "Quotations  Received".  Card  records  are  usually 
kept  in  card  cabinets;  and  as  we  have  two  records  to  keep,  we  will 
use  a  two-drawer  cabinet,  like  the  illustration  in  Figure  47. 


FIG.  47.     Card  Index  Cabinet  with  two  drawers. 

Upon  opening  one  drawer  we  find  an  arrangement  of  cards 
and  guides  as  illustrated  in  Figure  No.  48.  This  record  is  indexed 
by  subject,  as  we  are  interested  in  finding  records  of  articles  that 


CHAPTER    XII 

Insurance,  Real  Estate  and  Follow- Up  Card  Systems 
Insurance  Expiration  Records 

A  Fire  Insurance  Company  is  represented  in  every  city  by 
agents  who  "write"  insurance  for  the  company,  and  have  charge 
of  the  company's  business  in  that  locality.  For  a  certain  consid- 
eration, called  the  "premium",  the  company  guarantees  to  make 


FIG.  50.     Common  method  used  for  recording  policies.     Tab  shows  month  of  expiration. 

good  any  loss,  up  to  the  face  value  of  the  policy,  which  the  insured 
may  suffer  as  the  result  of  any  of  the  contingencies  covered  by  the 
terms  of  the  policy.  This  premium  protects  the  insured  for  a  cer- 
tain period  of  time,  usually  for  one,  three  or  five  years.  The  bus- 
iness man  relies  upon  the  insurance  company  to  keep  him  covered 
against  loss  and  to  tell  him  when  he  must  pay  another  premium 
to  keep  this  protection.  The  date  on  which  the  policy  becomes 
void  unless  another  premium  is  paid  is  called  the  expiration  date. 
The  system  illustrated  in  Figure  50  is  one  of  the  common  methods 
used  to  keep  this  record.  The  cards  are  filed  alphabetically  by 
the  assured's  name,  the  tab  on  the  card  indicating  the  month  in 
which  the  policy  expires.  Thus,  in  writing  up  this  record  if  the 
policy  expires  in  June,  a  card  bearing  a  June  tab  is  selected  and  the 
information  from  the  policy  recorded  thereon.  Then  it  is  a  simple 

66 


INSURANCE,  REAL  ESTATE  AND  FOLLOW-UP         67 

matter  to  notify  all  the  policy  holders  when  their  next  premiums 
are  due.  All  of  those  policies  which  expire  in  January  are  written 
on  cards  bearing  January  tabs,  and  these  tabs  all  fall  directly 
behind  one  another  in  the  file.  Thus,  on  the  first  of  January,  it 
is  an  easy  matter  to  go  through  the  file  and  remove  all  cards  bear- 
ing January  tabs,  and  send  a  notice  to  each  policy  holder  that  his 
premium  is  due. 

Real  Estate  Records 

The  card  system  for  "listing"  property  is  almost  universally 
used.  A  real  estate  broker  is  advised  by  a  property  owner  or  by 
a  landlord  that  he  has  a  piece  of  property  for  sale  or  for  rent.  The 


FIG.  51.     Form  used  by  real  estate  broker  for  listing  property. 

real  estate  dealer  asks  the  owner  to  describe  the  property,  and 
to  tell  him  the  location.  This  information  he  tabulates  on  the  card 
as  illustrated  in  Figure  51,  and  files  it  away  by  location.  The  rea- 
son he  files  this  by  location  is  that  a  prospective  purchaser  or 
renter  usually  asks  the  broker  what  property  he  has  for  sale  or 
rent  in  a  given  locality.  Reference  to  his  card  file  enables  the 
broker  to  produce  this  information  at  once. 

The  numbered  guides  in  this  system  indicate  street  numbers. 


68 


MODERN  FILING 


This  system  is  very  simple  and  is  one  that  would  be  used  by 
a  small  broker.  Many  more  extensive  systems  are  in  use  by  which 
the  broker  has  his  property  classified  by  character  of  property, 
valuation,  location,  etc.,  all  designated  by  tabbed  cards,  colored 
cards,  and  metal  indicators. 

Card  Follow-Up  Systems 

In  discussing  Card  Follow-up  Systems,  it  is  well  to  have  clear 
in  your  mind  the  distinction  between  Card  Follow-up  and  Vertical 
Follow-up.  Vertical  Follow-up  Systems  are  described  in  Chapter 
TX.  The  Vertical  Follow-up  system  is  designed  to  bring  papers 
to  attention  on  a  given  date,  and  each  individual  follow-up  matter 
contains  all  papers  which  have  accumulated  in  reference  to  it. 

A  Card  Follow-up  System  on  the  other  hand  is  a  record  which 
is  to  have  attention  at  a  given  future  time.  This  record  is  kept 


FIG.  52.     Simple  form  of  card  "follow-up". 

on  a  card  and  indexed  according  to  the  demands  of  the  situation. 
Card  Follow-up  Records  are  for  the  most  part  found  in  Sales  De- 
partments, yet  Card  Follow-up  Systems  are  used  for  innumerable 
other  purposes.  We  shall  consider  a  few  records  that  will  enable 
the  student  to  get  a  working  knowledge  of  their  uses. 

Since  to  "follow-up"  means  to  bring  matters  to  attention  at 
a  given  future  date,  our  guide  arrangement  must  be  one  represent- 
ing the  calendar,  and  will  therefore  consist  of  monthly  and  daily 
guides.  The  guide  arrangement  in  Figure  52  is  a  simple  form  of 


INSURANCE,  REAL  ESTATE  AND  FOLLOW-UP         69 

card  follow-up.  This  record  is  used  by  an  attorney  for  all  matters 
to  come  up  at  a  future  date.  Each  column  on  the  card  represents 
a  given  day  in  a  given  month  as  indicated  at  the  top  of  the  column. 
The  first  column  represents  January  14th,  the  "1"  meaning  Jan- 
uary, and  the  "14"  the  day  of  the  month.  As  an  attorney's  cor- 
respondence is  frequently  kept  by  the  numerical  system  as  des- 
cribed in  Chapter  V,  the  numbers  refer  to  cases  which  are  to 
have  his  attention  on  that  day.  The  card  indicates  that  he  also 
has  a  note  and  an  insurance  premium  to  meet  on  the  same  day. 
There  are  two  cards  of  six  columns  behind  each  daily  guide,  thus 
providing  a  follow-up  calendar  for  the  entire  year. 

If  this  attorney  had  a  letter  to  be  called  to  his  attention  on 
May  19th,  he  would  remove  the  first  card  behind  the  guide  tab 
"19"  and  make  an  entry  in  the  fifth  column.  If  the  matter  did  not 
receive  attention  on  that  date,  it  would  be  checked  and  dated  ahead 
for  some  future  date.  One  of  the  difficulties  of  this  record  is  that 
it  does  not  provide  for  an  alphabetical  reference  to  the  follow-up 
matter.  Such  a  reference  would  require  a  different  arrangement 
of  indexing. 

Alphabetical  Follow-Up 

In  Alphabetical  Follow-up,  we  have  reference  to  our  records 
by  name;  and  are  also  able,  without  interfering  with  this  arrange- 
ment, to  have  matters  called  to  our  attention  on  a  given  date.  In 
Figure  53  this  method  of  follow-up  is  illustrated.  This  is  a  very 
common  form  of  Sales  Follow-up  used  principally  by  mail  order 
houses.  The  cards  are  filed  alphabetically  by  prospective  cus- 
tomers' names,  and  contain  general  information  regarding  the 
prospect  as  well  as  a  record  of  the  circular  matter  which  has  already 
been  sent  to  him.  This  information  is  contained  under  the  head- 
ing, "We  Wrote".  Provided  the  prospective  customer  answers, 
the  information  is, noted  in  brief  form  in  the  column,  "They  Wrote". 
Any  orders  received  from  the  customer  are  listed  under  the  caption, 
"Orders".  Information  compiled  in  this  concise  form  regarding 
prospective  customers  constitutes  a  very  valuable  record.  Bring- 
ing the  matter  to  attention  on  the  proper  date  is  accomplished  by 
the  use  of  metal  indicators. 

In  this  particular  case,  Quincy  &  Meyers  are  prospective  cus- 
tomers and  have  been  sent  three  circulars  describing  our  products, 
on  the  dates  of  June  10th,  20th  and  30th;  and  on  July  5th  have 


70 


MODERN  FILING 


been  quoted  our  regular  terms.  We  are  desirous  of  following 
them  up  to  secure  the  order.  We  are  to  give  them  a  week's  time 
to  consider  the  matter;  and  if  at  the  end  of  that  period  we  have 


FIG.  53.  Card  used  in  alphabetical  follow-up.  Note  dates  1  to  31  printed  across  top  of  card. 
Indicators  are  slipped  over  top  of  cards  to  show  date  on  which  they  are  to  be 
brought  to  attention. 

received  no  reply,  we  shall  write  them  another  letter,  probably 
mentioning  additional  reasons  why  they  should  favor  us  with  their 
business.  Thus  to  bring  the  matter  to  our  attention  at  the  proper 
time,  we  put  a  metal  indicator  over  the  number  12  at  the  top  of 
the  card.  Throughout  our  follow-up  system  there  are  numerous 
other  prospects  to  whom  we  want  to  send  circular  matter 
on  that  same  day  and  all  of  these  record  cards  will  bear  a  metal 
indicator  in  the  same  position.  These  will  fall  in  direct  alignment, 
one  behind  the  other,  throughout.  Then  on  the  12th  of  July,  all 
those  cards  bearing  an  indicator  over  the  "12"  are  removed;  and  the 
proper  letters  or  literature  sent  to  the  prospects  and  the  indica- 
tors moved  ahead  to  the  next  follow-up  date.  Should  a  prospect 
send  us  his  order  or  a  letter  before  the  follow-up  date,  we  would 
have  no  difficulty  in  locating  his  record,  because  it  is  filed  alpha- 
betically. 


INSURANCE,  REAL  ESTATE  AND  FOLLOW-UP         71 
Metal  Indicators 

(See  also  illustration  next  page — Fig.  55) 

Metal  indicators  are  used  extensively  in  connection  with  card 
record  and  card  follow-up  systems.  They  are  to  be  had  in  many 
colors,  which  permit  of  wide  classification.  Their  colors  and  the 
positions  in  which  they  are  located  at  the  top  of  a  card  can  be  made 


FIG.  54.     Indicators  have   an   unlimited  use  in  connection  with  card  records   and  follow-up 

systems. 

to  indicate  an  unlimited  variety  of  things.  They  are  constructed 
with  a  little  metal  tongue  which  clings  to  the  back  of  the  card  and 
holds  them  firmly  in  position.  (See  Figure  54.)  Their  use  in 
connection  with  card  record  systems  is  very  important,  as  in  most 
instances  they  will  considerably  increase  the  scope  of  the  record. 
We  consider  them  so  important  that  we  are  showing  a  few  index- 
ing arrangements  in  which  they  are  used.  Figure  55 A  is  an  insur- 
ance expiration  record  like  that  described  on  page  66,  an  indi- 
cator showing  the  month  in  which  the  premium  is  due.  Tab  cards 
are  preferable  however,  this  feature  being  merely  to  illustrate  the 
adaptability  of  the  indicators. 

In  Illustration  55 B,  we  have  an  adaptation  of  the  indicators 
to  real  estate  records.  This  is  an  example  of  the  point  that  we 
made  previously  to  the  effect  that  indicators  could  increase  the 
scope  of  many  card  records. 

In  our  previous  description  of  this  real  estate  record,  in  Figure 
51,  the  indicators  were  not  used.  By  simply  printing  the  classifica- 
tions of  property  across  the  top  of  the  card  the  broker  secures  the 
added  advantage  of  being  able  to  refer  to  specific  kinds  of  property 
without  reference  to  any  other  cards.  This  adaptation  of  the  in- 
dicator to  his  records  saves  him  a  great  deal  of  time. 

In  the  bookkeeping  department  the  credit  man  can  keep  track 
of  the  condition  ^of  all  overdue  accounts  by  attaching  indicators 
to  his  ledger  cards.  If  an  account  is  overdue  and  in  the  process 
of  collection,  an  indicator  would  appear  over  the  word  "overdue". 


72 


MODERN  FILING 


FIG.  55.  Showing  a  few  typical  uses  of  Indicators  for  indexing  arrangements — "A"  Cross- 
indexing  an  alphabetical  file  by  months.  "B"  Indicators  used  to  cross  index  by 
subject.  "C"  Showing  use  made  of  Indicators  by  Credit  Men  to  call  attention  to 
different  classes  of  accounts.  "D"  Used  as  an  alphabetical  cross-index  in  a  follow- 
up  system. 


INSURANCE,  REAL  ESTATE  AND  FOLLOW-UP         73 

(See  Figure  55C.)  If  a  draft  had  been  drawn  on  the  customer, 
an  indicator  would  be  placed  over  the  word,  "draft".  In  case  the 
credit  man  had  notified  the  customer  that  if  payment  of  the  account 
were  not  made  within  a  certain  time  it  would  be  turned  over  to 
his  attorney  for  collection,  an  indicator  would  appear  over  the 
word  "final  notice",  while  all  those  accounts  which  had  been  turned 
over  to  the  Collection  Agency  would  have  an  indicator  in  the  last 
position.  Incidentally  the  student  should  note  that  this  record 
is  indexed  geographically  by  state  and  town. 

Knowledge  of  Card  Record  Systems  Important 

The  student  should  realize  that  a  careful  study  of  the  fore- 
going will  have  considerable  bearing  upon  his  success  in  the  business 
world  as  card  records  have  now  reached  a  very  important  level  in 
office  records.  Our  object  is  to  give  you  a  general  idea  of  card 
record  systems  in  use  and  to  enable  you  to  quickly  understand  any 
with  which  you  may  come  in  contact. 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER   XII 
Insurance,  Real  Estate  and  Follow-Up  Card  Systems 

1 — In  the  record  of  insurance  expirations  on  cards,  what  does  the 
tab  indicate? 

2 — How  are  real  estate  listing  cards  usually  indexed? 
Why? 

3 — How  does  a  card  follow-up  system  differ  from  a  vertical  follow- 
up  system? 

4 — Suppose  you  are  using  a  simple  follow-up  card  system,  with 
monthly  and  daily  guides,  can  you  refer  to  any  card  by 
name  or  subject? 

5- — What  advantage  has  the  alphabetical  follow-up  system  shown 
in  Figure  53  over  that  shown  in  Figure  52? 

6 — Explain  how  to  file  and  follow  up  a  card  for  Randall  &  Co., 
who  have  written  us  on  the  5th.  We  reply  on  the  7th  and 
wish  to  follow-up  our  letter  in  10  days.  (Use  method  shown 
in  Figure  53). 


74  MODERN  FILING 


1 — If  Randall  &  Co.  reply  to  our  letter   on  the  9th,  shall  we  be 
able  to  locate  their  card?     Why? 

8 — What    is    an    indicator? 

9 — In  using  .an  alphabetical  follow-up  system,    what  cards  does 
the  clerk  remove  every  day? 

10 — Give  two  distinct  uses  for  indicators. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Document  and  Check  Filing 

The  filing  of  folded  documents  and  cancelled  checks  has  be- 
come a  matter  of  great  importance  with  business  houses,  banks 
and  municipalities.  Business  houses  and  banks  are  concerned 
with  the  filing  of  cancelled  checks,  while  document  filing  is  found 
on  a  large  scale  in  Government  offices.  The  filing  of  government 
papers  is  becoming  so  important  that  legislative  measures  are  being 
taken  to  provide  for  the  permanence  of  these  papers  by  proper 
filing  methods. 

Document  Filing 

The  term  "document"  is  usually  applied  to  a  folded  paper 
measuring  about  4x10  inches.  Such  papers  as  insurance  policies, 
leases,  vouchers,  affidavits,  legal  notices,  and  papers  filed  with 
government  officials,  such  as  copies  of  mortgages,  certificates  of 
incorporation  and  many  others  are  in  this  class.  These  folded 
documents  are  usually  filed  in  document  drawers  as  shown  in  Fig- 
ure 56. 


FIG.  56.     Single  Document  File,  with  jacket. 

In  a  City,  County,  or  State  building,  thousands  of  these  draw- 
ers are  built  into  one  huge  system  and  usually  indexed  alphabetically 
or  numerically. 

75 


76  MODERN  FILING 


The  most  common  method  is  to  index  them  numerically, 
while  reference  is  made  to  them  from  a  register  of  some  character 
or  from  an  alphabetical  index.  Aside  from  the  records  of  the  gov- 
ernment, document  filing  is  most  widely  used  by  attorneys. 

These  folded  documents  are  indexed  by  guides  which  are 
either  alphabetical  or  numerical  to  correspond  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  system.  (See  Figure  57.) 


•  IP 

FIG.  57.     Guides  used  for  indexing  documents. 


Rarely  is  the  actual  filing  of  documents  complicated;  but  as 
a  student  of  filing,  you  should  be  familiar  with  the  methods  used. 

Filing  Documents  Flat 

A  folded  paper  bearing  the  title,  "Document",  is  usually  im- 
portant, and  many  of  them  must  be  preserved  indefinitely.  Gov- 
ernment officials  have  found  that  the  folded  edges  of  documents 
become  badly  worn,  and  that  many  old  papers  break  at  the  folding 
point  when  reference  is  made  to  them.  Furthermore,  folded  pa- 
pers take  up  a  great  deal  of  space  in  a  drawer  and  only  a  few  can 
be  filed  in  a  document  file.  In  addition  to  this,  a  document  drawer 
is  not  so  readily  indexed  as  a  vertical  drawer,  because  the  guides 
are  widely  separated  by  the  many  folds  of  the  intervening  papers. 
As  a  result,  laws  are  being  passed  by  State  Legislatures  which 
provide  that  government  documents  be  filed  flat,  that  is,  un- 
folded, and  by  the  vertical  system. 


DOCUMENT  AND  CHECK  FILING  77 

If  this  method  proves  as  successful  as  it  has  in  the  commercial 
world — and  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  will — the  ma- 
jority of  all  government  papers  will  eventually  be  filed  by  the 
vertical  system. 

Check  Filing 

This  has  to  do  with  the  filing  of  cancelled  checks.  Banks 
must  keep  cancelled  checks  in  immediately  accessible  shape  until 
the  depositor's  passbook  is  balanced.  They  are  then  returned  to 
the  depositor  with  the  passbook.  Since  a  receipted  invoice  is  not 
required,  as  a  rule,  when  an  account  is  paid  by  check,  cancelled 
checks  are  becoming  of  more  importance  to  the  business  man,  as 
the  only  proof  of  payment  which  he  has  is  the  endorsement  on  the 
back  of  the  check. 

The  Old  Method 

Until  recent  years  it  was  the  habit  of  the  business  man,  when 
he  received  his  cancelled  checks  from  the  bank,  to  check  them  up 
with  his  cash  account;  and  then,  arranging  them  numerically,  tie 
them  in  bundles  and  file  them  away  on  some  inaccessible  shelf. 

When  it  became  necessary  to  refer  to  a  cancelled  check  the 
method  was  very  tedious.  Reference  would  probably  be  made 
to  an  accounts  payable  record  for  the  date  on  which  an  account 
was  paid,  and  then  reference  to  a  check  register  or  the  check  book 
stubs  on  that  date  to  secure  the  number  of  the  check  by  which 
the  account  was  paid,  and  finally  it  was  necessary  to  look  through 
dust  covered  bundles  to  obtain  the  check  required. 

The  Modern  Way 

Check  filing  adapts  itself  readily  to  the  Vertical  System,  that 
is,  filing  checks  on  edge.  Banks  have  universally  adopted  the 
method  as  it  saves  space,  permits  of  extensive  indexing,  and  is 
rapid  of  reference. 

Checks  are  filed  in  what  is  termed  a  check  file  drawer,  Figure 
58,  which  is  made  the  proper  size  to  accommodate  standard  checks, 
which  measure  about  9  by  4  inches.  Check  file  guides  are  pro- 
vided, with  a  reinforced  bottom  projection  through  which  passes 


78  MODERN  FILING 


a  rod,  fitted  in  the  drawer.  The  tabs  of  the  guides  are  printed 
with  alphabetical  divisions,  names,  or  numbers,  according  to  the 
method  of  indexing  in  use. 


FIG.  58.     Check  File  Cabinet. 

In  banks,  cancelled  or  paid  checks  are  indexed  alphabetically 
by  depositors'  names.  After  the  bank  returns  the  checks  to  the 
depositor,  the  latter  files  them  by  name  of  payee  or  sometimes 
by  number. 

Direct  Name  Check  Filing  System 

The  alphabetical  method  of  indexing  has  been  improved  from 
time  to  time,  until  now  a  system  which  gives  the  best  results  and 
seems  to  answer  all  the  requirements  is  that  shown  in  Illustration 
59.  This  is  known  as  the  Direct  Name  Check  Filing  System. 
This  index  will  suitably  provide  for  proper  indexing  of  the  can- 
celled checks  of  a  bank  or  a  large  commercial  house.  For  the 
smaller  business  house  a  less  minutely  divided  index  would  answer. 

All  that  you  see  in  the  illustration  are  guides.  They  indicate 
where  checks  are  filed.  The  cancelled  check  itself  is  placed  be- 
hind its  proper  alphabetical  guide.  The  three  rows  of  guides  at 
the  left  of  the  file  constitute  the  general  index  for  miscellaneous 
and  inactive  accounts — people  who  draw  very  few  checks  during 
the  year.  For  active  accounts  or  regular  depositors'  accounts, 
having  quite  a  number  of  checks  each  month,  a  further  provision 
is  made.  A  guide  with  a  wide  tab  at  the  right  is  made  out  for 
each  one. 


DOCUMENT  AND  CHECK  FILING 


79 


The  name  of  the  depositor  is  printed  on  the  tab,  which  has 
been  covered  with  opaque  celluloid  to  reinforce  it  and  permit  erasure. 
The  space  at  the  right  of  the  file  is  reserved  for  these  regular  depos- 


LxHeH;Hj  13  Vyo0HL?y  Jj;^  Wj2 
f  Ga-$\;  10  /  G£  nJy J]  ^°     f,  ^/ 


FIG.  59.     Direct  Name  Check  Filing  System;  similar  to  Direct  Name  System  of  letter-filing. 

itors'  guides.  To  file  or  find  the  checks  of  Greene  &  Co.  re- 
quires but  a  glance.  The  name  is  in  full  view  at  the  right  of  the 
file  behind  the  corresponding  alphabetical  guide. 


The  Commercial  Use 

The  business  man,  in  filing  his  cancelled  checks  after  he  has  re- 
ceived them  from  the  bank,  indexes  them  in  exactly  the  same  manner 
by  name  of  payee.  This  gives  him  a  direct  reference  and  does  away 
with  the  necessity  of  referring  to  two  or  three  other  records,  and  then 
finally  locating  his  checks  by  number.  Efficiency  in  filing  means 
direct  reference  to  the  record  required,  and  not  to  supplementary 
indexes. 

The  Check  filing  system  like  any  other  vertical  system  will 
expand  indefinitely.  A  system  may  comprise  only  one  or  two 
drawers  as  shown  in  Figure  58;  or  it  may  consist  of  hundreds  of 
drawers,  built  up  of  sectional  filing  cabinets. 


80  MODERN  FILING 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  XIII 
Document  and  Check  Filing 

1 — Name  five  papers  that  might  be  termed  documents. 
2 — By  whom  is  document  filing  used  to  a  great  extent? 
3 — (a)     In  what  kind  of  a  drawer  are  documents  filed? 

(b)     How  are  they  indexed? 

4 — What  objections  are  there  to  filing  documents  folded? 
5 — What   is   a  cancelled    check? 
6 — Why  is  a  cancelled  check  of  value?     Why  more  valuable  than 

formerly? 

7 — (a)     How  long  does  a  bank  keep  cancelled  checks  of  its  deposit- 
ors? 

(b)     By  what  general  method  are  they  filed  during  that  time? 
8 — (a)     How  are  cancelled  checks  filed  by  business  houses? 

(b)     How  did  they  formerly  keep  cancelled  checks? 
9 — Describe  briefly  the  Direct  Name  Check  Filing  System. 
10 — Suppose    you    are    employed    by   a    bank  in   filing   cancelled 
checks,  using  the  Direct  Name  System.      (a)     How  would 
you   file   a   check   drawn   by   Bellamy   &   Palmer,   whose 
account  is  very  active?     (b)     How  would  you  file  a  check 
drawn  by  R.  E.  Baker,  whose  account  is  inactive? 


CHAPTER    XIV 

The  Card  Ledger 

The  use  of  the  bound  book  for  record  keeping  purposes  in 
modern  business  is  rapidly  diminishing.  Loose  leaf  systems  and 
card  index  systems  are  supplanting  the  bound  book  in  nearly  every 
instance  where  the  latter  can  be  used. 

The  ledger,  for  years  regarded  as  sacred — the  heart  of  the  ac- 
count keeping  machinery — was  the  last  to  succumb.  But  the 
merits  of  the  loose  leaf  system  and  the  card  system  were  not  to  be 
denied;  and  today,  ledger  accounts  are  almost  universally  kept  on 
loose  sheets  or  cards. 

Certain  crudities  in  the  first  card  ledger  systems  retarded 
their  general  adoption  somewhat,  but  modern  ideas  and  recent 
innovations  and  improvements  have  brought  the  card  ledger  to  a 
point  approaching  perfection. 

Many  of  the  largest  commercial  institutions  in  the  country, 
after  giving  the  matter  very  careful  consideration,  have  installed 
the  card  ledger  system.  The  officials  of  these  firms  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  relative  merits  of  all  ledger  keeping  systems,  and 
in  adopting  the  card  system  they  gave  it  a  well  deserved  tribute. 
Hundreds  of  Savings  Banks  have  installed  it;  and  as  Savings  Banks 
have  the  reputation  the  world  over  of  being  managed  by  hard- 
headed,  conservative  business  men,  there  is  no  doubt  about  the 
increase  in  popularity  of  the  Card  Ledger  System. 

In  general,  Card  Ledgers  have  those  advantages  common  to 
card  systems  over  other  forms  of  record  keeping;  and  in  addition, 
several  advantages  peculiar  to  the  demands  of  ledger  work. 

The  general  points  of  superiority  are  listed  below: 

First:     Elimination    of    dead    matter. 

Second:     Adaptability  to  indexing. 

Third :     Unlimited    Expansion. 

Fourth :     Economy. 

Fifth:     Efficiency  in  posting  and  reference. 

Sixth:     An  aid  to  rapid  trial  balancing. 

Seventh:     An  aid   to  prompt  statements. 

Eighth :     A  great  help  to  credit  men  in  controlling  accounts. 

We  shall  now  enlarge  somewhat  upon  the  above  tabulated 
advantages. 

SI 


82  MODERN  FILING 


Elimination  of  Dead  Matter: 

When  an  account  becomes  balanced  or  closed  for  any  reason 
it  may  immediately  be  transferred  to  the  closed  accounts,  and  so 
will  not  interfere  with  the  active  records. 

Adaptability  to  Indexing: 

Like  any  card  record,  a  card  ledger  may  be  so  indexed  as  to 
make  reference  very  rapid.  It  may  also  be  indexed  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  situation,  either  alphabetically  by  firm  name, 
geographically  by  location,  by  territory  or  otherwise. 

Unlimited  Expansion: 

The  card  ledger  is  perpetual — it  need  never  be  rewritten.  An 
account  is  not  transferred  from  page  to  page  as  in  a  bound  book. 
When  a  card  is  active  and  becomes  filled,  a  new  card  is  made  out 
and  placed  directly  behind  it;  consequently  the  entire  account  is 
together.  To  add  new  accounts  is  simpler  than  by  any  other  system. 
The  bound  book  requires  the  opening  of  a  new  account  and  index- 
ing it.  A  loose  leaf  ledger  requires  the  writing  of  a  new  sheet  and 
the  awkward,  slow  insertion  of  the  sheet  in  the  binder.  The  card 
system  merely  requires  writing  a  new  card  and  placing  it  in  its 
proper  alphabetical  or  numerical  position. 

Economy: 

The  original  cost  of  installation  of  the  card  ledger  system 
is  less  than  that  of  any  other  method  and  the  upkeep  of  the  system 
in  additional  material  consumed  is  considerably  less.  It  is  also 
economical  in  its  numerous  time-saving  features. 

Efficiency  in  Posting  and  Reference: 

Because  of  its  efficient  indexing,  very  rapid  reference  can  be 
made  to  a  card  ledger.  The  fact  that  dead  accounts  are  elimin- 
ated makes  this  record  wholly  efficient  as  all  accounts  are  alive. 
Posting  to  a  card  is  easy  and  accurate,  as  the  card  itself  is  in  close 
proximity  to  the  original  figures  when  the  actual  posting  is  done. 

An  Aid  to  Rapid  Trial  Balancing: 

The  trial  balance  is  taken  off  rapidly  with  the  card  ledger  because 
only  active  accounts  need  be  considered.  Daily  trial  balances  may 
also  be  taken  off  by  holding  out  those  cards  on  which  postings  have 
been  made  and  balancing  them  with  the  original  entries  for  the  day. 


THE  CARD  LEDGER 


83 


An  Aid  to  Prompt  Statements: 

In  the  rush  of  sending  out  statements  at  the  end  of  the  month, 
the  card  ledger  offers  a  point  of  advantage  not  to  be  obtained  with 
any  other  system.  The  card  ledger  may  be  divided  into  several  sec- 
tions and  distributed  among  several  clerks,  and  thus  statements 
may  be  made  out  very  rapidly. 

A  Great  Help  to  Credit  Men  in  Controlling  Accounts: 

By  the  use  of  metal  indicators  the  ledger  card  itself  may  be 
used  by  the  credit  man  for  handling  collections  and  for  watching 
accounts  when  they  are  nearing  their  credit  limit. 

Card  Ledger  in  Operation 

Having  thoroughly  discussed  the  advantages  of  the  card  ledger, 
we  shall  turn  our  attention  to  the  actual  record.  In  the  printed 
forms  used,  a  card  ledger  differs  very  little  from  a  bound  book 
or  loose  leaf  ledger.  The  usual  forms  for  single  and  double  entry 
bookkeeping  are  used;  or,  if  the  condition  demands,  a  special  form 
is  designed. 


FIG.  60.     Common  forms  of  ledger  cards  for  commercial  use. 

In  Figure  60  we  are  shown  some  of  the  common  forms  of  ledger 
cards  for  commercial  use;  and  in  Figure  61,  some  more  elaborate 
forms  for  Savings  Banks  and  Commercial  use. 


84 


MODERN  FILING 


FIG.  61.     More  elaborate  forms  of  ledger  cards  used  by  savings  banks  and  commercial  houses. 

A  short  study  of  these  illustrations  and  those  shown  on  the  fol- 
lowing pages  will  give  the  student  a  general  knowledge  of  the  com- 
mon forms  used  for  card  ledgers. 

Methods  of  Indexing 

The  indexing  of  a  card  ledger  is  a  matter  of  great  importance. 
Without  doubt  the  adaptability  of  the  card  ledger  to  indexing  is 
one  point  which  has  made  it  very  popular,  and  its  efficiency  de- 
pends mainly  upon  this.  We  shall  therefore  give  particular  at- 
tention to  the  common  methods  of  indexing  and  dwell  somewhat 
on  their  relative  merits. 

The  alphabetical,  geographical  and  numerical  methods  of 
indexing  are  most  commonly  used.  A  small  and  simple  card  led- 
ger, containing  three  to  five  hundred  accounts,  would  look  like 


THE  CARD  LEDGER 


85 


Figure  62,  in  which  will  be  noted  the  provision  for  open  and  closed 
accounts.  The  detail  of  this  ledger,  showing  the  card  itself  and  the 
actual  method  of  filing,  is  given  in  Illustration  63.  In  posting, 


FIG.  62.     Small   Card  Ledger  in  handy  tray. 

the  card  is  removed  from  the  tray  and  placed  directly  under  the 
original  entry;  and  thus  the  operation  of  posting  is  confined  to  a 
small  space,  which  makes  it  rapid  and  accurate. 


FIG.  63.     Detail  of  ledger  illustrated  in  FIG.  62.     Note  card  and  actual  method  of  filing. 


86 


MODERN  FILING 


This  small  system  could  expand  to  ten  or  twenty  thousand 
accounts  with  no  re-writing  or  unnecessary  work. 

An  accurately  indexed  card  ledger  will  have  from  ten  to  twenty 
cards  behind  each  guide;  and  as  the  record  expands  and  new  ac- 
counts are  added,  it  is  only  necessary  to  provide  a  more  minutely 


FIG.  64.     Subdivided  index  for  an  accurate  Card  Ledger  System.    Note  standard  double  entry 
ruling  now  found  in  majority  of  ledgers. 

subdivided  index.  Such  an  index  is  shown  in  Figure  64.  Also 
note  that  the  form  of  card  used  here  is  the  standard  double  entry 
ruling  found  in  the  majority  of  ledgers.  It  has  the  same  ruling 
on  the  reverse  side;  and  provides  for  &8  postings,  demonstrating 
the  economy  of  the  system. 

The  Safeguard  Card  Ledger 

In  this  ledger,  shown  in  Figure  65,  all  the  defects  of  early  card 
ledger  systems  have  been  overcome.  It  provides  for  every  demand 
of  the  ordinary  ledger  and  in  addition  has  refinements  and  advan- 
tages that  cannot  be  obtained  in  other  than  a  card  system.  It  is 
termed  the  "Safeguard  Ledger  System",  and  provides  against  mis- 
filing  and  loss  of  cards. 

First,  consider  the  guides,  the  tabs  of  which  are  celluloided 
to  provide  maximum  wearing  qualities.  In  addition  to  the  alpha- 


THE  CARD  LEDGER 


87 


betical  subdivision  on  each  guide  there  is  also  a  number,  affording 
a  combination  of  the  alphabetical  and  numerical  systems.  We  shall 
explain  the  use  of  this  number  shortly. 


FIG.  65.     The  Safeguard  Card  Ledger — an  absolute  guarantee  against  lost  or  misplaced  cards. 

When  a  ledger  card  is  made  out  for  a  new  account,  the  name 
of  the  customer  is  registered  on  the  face  of  the  guide  behind  which 
the  card  is  to  be  filed.  The  reverse  side  of  the  guide  is  printed 
and  numbered  in  the  same  way,  providing  for  72  accounts  altogether. 

The  cards  for  this  system  are  printed  on  two  sides,  the  face 
in  black,  and  the  reverse  in  red.  They  are  also  tabbed  at  the  top 
and  bottom  as  in  Figure  66.  The  tabs  at  the  top  of  the  cards 
bear  letters,  which  represent  given  names  or  the  second  parts  of 
firm  names.  The  tab  at  the  bottom  on  the  face  of  the  card  is  solid 
black — the  purpose  of  this  we  shall  explain  later.  On  the  reverse 
side  the  card  is  printed  in  red,  the  top  tab  bearing  a  letter  just 
as  on  the  face,  while  the  tab  at  the  bottom  is  solid  red. 

Should  the  account  represented  by  this  particular  card  become 
delinquent,  the  card  is  reversed  so  that  the  solid  red  tab  shows.  If 
the  account  is  temporarily  closed  on  account  of  a  credit  posting, 
the  card  is  turned  so  that  the  solid  black  tab  shows.  Thus,  in 
taking  off  a  trial  balance,  this  card  would  not  be  considered. 


88 


MODERN  FILING 


We  can  best  follow  the  system  through  by  citing  an  example. 
We  find  that  we  have  a  new  account  to  open  with  F.  C.  Adams 
Company.  We  first  select  a  card  bearing  an  "F"  tab,  which 
corresponds  with  the  first  initial.  We  write  on  the  card  the  name 


FIG.  66.     Ledger  cards  with  shoulder  tabs. 


and  address  of  the  firm  and  other  general  information,  make  our 
posting,  and  refer  to  our  index  to  find  behind  which  guide  it  is  to 
be  filed.  We  find  that  it  goes  behind  the  "Aa-Ak"  guide,  and  there- 
fore register  it  on  the  face  of  that  guide  on  line  No.l.  This  gives 
us  our  card  number  which  is  "1-1".  This  compound  number  is  se- 
cured for  each  account,  the  first  number  representing  the  guide 
behind  which  the  card  is  filed,  and  the  second  number,  the  num- 
ber of  the  account  itself.  For  example,  the  eighth  account  open- 
ed behind  guide  "An-Ar  No.  3"  would  be  "3-8". 

Referring  to  the  face  of  guide  No.  1,  we  find  the  second 
account  opened  was  Andrews,  Akers  &  Co.,  which  is  card  No.  1-2, 
the  second  card  behind  the  guide,  and  which  bears  an  "A"  tab. 


THE  CARD  LEDGER 


89 


The  cards  in  this  system  are  not  alphabetically  arranged 
behind  the  guides.  Simply  drop  the  card  behind  its  alphabetical 
guide  regardless  of  the  position. 

If  in  spite  of  the  safeguards  against  mistakes  a  card  should 
become  misfiled  in  this  system,  it  could  be  readily  located  by  its 
alphabetical  tab,  which  indicates  the  given  name  or  second  part 
of  the  firm  name.  For  instance,  in  case  the  card  of  the  F.  C. 
Adams  Company  were  misfiled,  it  would  merely  be  necessary  to 
run  through  the  file  and  glance  at  those  cards  bearing  "F"  tabs. 
The  missing  card  would  be  located  in  a  moment. 

For  general  commercial  ledger  work,  the  alphabetical  system 
of  indexing  is  recommended.  In  a  few  instances  the  situation 
may  demand  a  geographical  index.  In  Savings  Bank  ledgers  the 
index  is  nearly  always  numerically  arranged  as  accounts  in  all  Sav- 
ings Bank  records  are  usually  known  by  number. 

Geographical  Card  Ledger 

In  practical  operation,  the  geographical  card  ledger  does  not 
differ  from  the  alphabetical,  except  that  the  cards  are  arranged 


FIG.  67.     Card  Ledger  arranged  geographically  instead  of  alphabetically. 


90 


MODERN  FILING 


by  location.  Figure  67  is  typical  of  this  character  of  system.  Many 
variations  of  geographical  indexing  can  be  employed,  just  as  in 
geographical  vertical  letter  filing  of  which  the  student  already  has 
a  general  knowledge. 

A  geographical  card  ledger  enables  a  concern  to  gather  sta- 
tistics regarding  sales  by  territories.  This  is  very  often  valuable 
information  for  use  in  planning  sales  campaigns;  and  if  the  ledger 
were  not  indexed  geographically,  it  could  only  be  obtained  by  a 
duplicate  sales  record  which  would  involve  considerable  time  and 
expense.  It  is  also  of  assistance  in  gauging  the  financial  condi- 
tions of  territories  by  analyzing  collections. 

Numerical  Card  Ledger 

The  numerical  card  ledger  is  rarely  used  in  commercial  con- 
cerns, and  then  as  a  rule  only  where  other  records,  such  as  corres- 


FIG.  68.     Numerical  Card  Ledger  widely  used  in  savings  banks. 


THE  CARD  LEDGER  91 

pondence,  credits,  etc.,  are  arranged  by  the  same  number,  all  being 
located  from  a  general  jndex.  In  banks  however,  the  savings  ac- 
counts are  nearly  always  arranged  numerically.  The  guides  are 
numbered  by  10's  as  shown  in  Figure  68,  and  the  form  card  bears  a 
numbered  tab.  The  form  of  card  shown  in  Figure  68  is  one  for 
commercial  use,  while  the  two  upper  forms  in  Figure  61  are  com- 
mon forms  for  bank  use. 

A  numerical  ledger  of  this  kind  must  have  a  supplementary 
alphabetical  index,  either  on  cards  or  in  book  form,  to  locate  an 
account. 

Card  Ledger  Desks 

The  usual  receptacle  for  a  card  ledger  is  a  cabinet  (Figure  47) 
or  a  card  ledger  desk  of  sufficient  size  to  accommodate  it.  For  the 
student's  information  we  are  showing,  in  Figure  69,  a  type  of  stand- 
ing card  ledger  desk.  This  desk  has  a  sliding  posting  shelf  which 
the  operator  moves  along  as  postings  are  being  made. 


FIG.  69.     Standing  Card  Ledger  Desk.     Note  the  sliding  posting  shelf. 

Another  type  of  a  card  ledger  desk  of  sectional  construction 
is  shown  in  Figure  70. 

Mechanical  Ledger  Posting 

There  is  a  growing  tendency  to  adopt  Mechanical  Posting  Ma- 
chines for  ledger  work.  These  machines  are  similar  to  adding 
machines,  or  typewriters  with  adding  attachments.  There  are 


92 


MODERN  FILING 


FIG.  70.     Sectional  Card  Ledger  Desk.     (See  previous  page.)     Cards  are  filed  in  big  pedestals 
at  right  and  left  facing  toward  the  user. 

several  makes  on  the  market,  and  the  manufacturers  assert  that 
in  a  few  years  every  ledger  of  any  size  in  the  country  will  be  me- 
chanically posted.  Thousands  of  the  machines  are  already  in  use; 
and  we  should  know  something  of  their  operation,  and  of  the 
adaptability  of  the  card  ledger  to  the  work  which  they  do. 

Many  banks  which  use  this  system  have  vertical  trays  to 
accommodate  their  ledger  cards,  which  are  generally  11  by  11,  or 
12  by  12  inches  in  size.  In  Figure  71,  we  see  one  of  these  trays 
with  the  large  ledger  cards  alphabetically  arranged.  In  posting 
to  an  account  the  card  is  withdrawn  from  the  tray  and  inserted 
in  the  machine.  The  old  balance  is  printed,  followed  by  the  checks 
in  detail,  then  the  deposits,  and  finally  the  new  balance  is  struck 


FIG.  71.     Tray  for  use  with  Posting  Machines.     Ledger  cards  are  filed  alphabetically. 


THE  CARD  LEDGER 


93 


at  the  right  edge  of  the  sheet.  All  of  these  additions  and  sub- 
tractions are  done  by  the  machine.  When  the  card  is  replaced 
in  the  tray,  it  is  "offset"  to  the  right.  This  keeps  separate  all 
accounts  which  have  changed  during  the  day.  At  the  end  of  the 
day,  a  balance  is  struck  by  adding  the  deposits  or  credits  to  the 
old  balances,  and  the  checks  or  debits  to  the  new  balances. 


A 


FIG.  71  A.     Card  form  used  with  Mechanical  Posting  Machines. 

Commercial  houses  also  use  the  card  ledger  for  this  purpose. 
If  a  large  size  of  card  is  used,  a  vertical  tray  is  employed,  as  in 
banks.  If,  however,  the  accounts  are  not  acted  upon  so  frequently 
as  to  require  a  large  card,  a  smaller  size,  sometimes  8x5,  is  used. 
The  cards  may  be  filed  in  a  card  record  desk  as  shown  in  Figure 
70.  This  brings  a  large  number  of  accounts  within  reach  of  the 
operator,  and  is  a  very  convenient  method  for  a  concern  whose 
accounts  are  not  particularly  active. 

Figure  71 A  illustrates  a  card  form  used  with  a  mechanical 
posting  machine.  The  left  notch  (bottom  edge)  fits  over  a  rod 
which  runs  near  the  bottom  of  the  tray.  After  posting,  the  card 
is  replaced  in  the  tray  with  its  left  edge  resting  against  this 
rod.  This  is  called  "offsetting",  and  of  course  requires  a  tray 
made  wider  than  the  card.  After  the  proof  of  the  postings  is 
made,  all  offset  cards  are  replaced  in  their  original  positions. 


94  MODERN  FILING 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  XIV 
The  Card  Ledger 

1 — Name  six  points  of  advantage  of  the  Card  Ledger. 

2 — Elaborate   on    three    of   them,    telling   specifically   what   each 
advantage    means. 

3 — What  are  the  general  methods  of  indexing  a  card  ledger? 

4 — In  the  Safeguard  System,  why  are  the  guide  tabs  lettered  and 
also    numbered? 

5 — Explain  how  you  would  assign  a  number  to  a  new  account — 
The    Agricultural    Gazette? 

6 — What  do  the  letters  indicate  on  the  tabs  of  the  cards? 

What  tab  would  you  select  for  the  card  of  the  Agricultural 
Gazette? 

7 — What  does  a  solid  red  tab  signify?     A  solid  black  tab? 

8 — What  purpose  does  the  Geographically  indexed  card  ledger  an- 
swer? 

9 — Where  is  the  numerical  card  ledger  principally  used?     Why? 

10 — Explain  briefly  the  use  of  the  card  ledger  in  connection  with 
a   Mechanical   Posting  Machine. 


CHAPTER    XV 

Stock  Record  Keeping 
What  a  Stock  Record  Is 

Every  manufacturing  business  must  procure  raw  material  from 
which  to  manufacture  its  products.  This  raw  material  is  usually 
stored  in  a  certain  department,  called  the  stock  room,  and  held  there 
until  required  by  the  Manufacturing  Department.  Frequently  it 
is  made  into  manufactured  parts,  which  are  later  assembled  into  a 
complete  machine  or  product.  An  accurate  record  of  this  raw  ma- 
terial and  these  finished  parts  must  be  kept. 

In  a  jobbing  or  retail  establishment  where  no  manufacturing 
is  done,  and  where  the  material  is  obtained  from  outside  sources 
ready  for  reselling,  much  the  same  procedure  is  followed.  Of  this 
stock  an  accurate  record  must  also  be  kept. 

What  a  Stock  Record  Does 

The  stock  of  a  business  house  always  represents  a  considerable 
sum  of  money;  and  as  a  form  of  wealth,  must  be  carefully  guarded. 
An  accurate  stock  record  will  prevent  leaks, — that  is,  the  disap- 
pearance of  material  from  the  stock  room  with  no  record  of  where 
it  has  gone.  This  is  prevented  with  an  accurate  stock  record  be- 
cause nothing  is  delivered  without  written  authority. 

It  will  also  prevent  "short  stock".  This  means  the  sudden 
discovery  that  a  certain  item  of  stock  in  daily  use  is  completely  ex- 
hausted, necessitating  expensive  delays  in  reordering  and  replac- 
ing. 

A  stock  record  will  also  call  immediate  attention  to  "dead 
stock" — stock  which  is  not  moving,  which  is  occupying  valuable 
floor  space,  tying  up  precious  capital,  and  increasing  the  insurance 
premium. 

It  does  away  with  that  bad  condition,  "over  stock",  which  also 
takes  up  valuable  space,  and  increases  the  investment  and  the  in- 
surance premium,  because  such  a  system  gives  an  accurate  record 
of  consumption  by  periods  on  which  to  gauge  the  quantity  to  be  pur- 
chased. 

95 


96 


MODERN  FILING 


In  case  of  fire,  a  stock  record  gives  an  immediate  and  accurate 
basis  for  insurance  claims  and  adjustment. 

With  such  important  points  involved,  the  stock  record  becomes 
a  necessity. 

The  Method  Used 

The  bound  book  has  been  found  wholly  inadequate  for  the  de- 
mands of  a  stock  record.  The  loose  leaf  method,  while  an  improve- 
ment over  the  bound  book,  lacks  many  of  the  essential  elements 
which  make  for  efficiency.  But  the  card  system  seems  to  answer 


FIG.  72.     Card  record  of  Stock.    A  complete  record  in  convenient  form. 

every  requirement  and  is  most  generally  used.  This  record  must 
provide  for  a  listing  of  each  item  of  stock.  Therefore,  a  separate 
card  is  made  out  for  each  kind,  style  and  size  of  material.  These 
cards  are  filed  away  behind  subject  guides,  the  names  of  the  articles 
of  stock  being  printed  or  lettered  thereon.  A  study  of  the  accom- 
panying illustration  will  make  the  indexing  method  clear.  The 
card  illustrated  (Figure  72)  is  a  very  convenient  form.  These  cards 
bear  1/5  cut  tabs,  designed  for  the  purpose  of  listing  different  sizes 
or  styles  of  a  general  article.  In  the  illustration  the  first  six  cards 


STOCK  RECORD  KEEPING  97 

shown  are  presumably  filed  behind  a  guide  marked  "Files",  and 
show  the  different  sizes  used.  The  record  provides  for  the  quantity 
of  material  ordered,  the  quantity  received,  and  the  quantity  de- 
livered or  sold.  Generally  material  is  ordered  in  large  quantities 
and  distributed  in  small  lots.  For  that  reason,  provision  is  made 
for  many  entries  under  the  heading,  "Sold". 

The  columns  headed  "Date",  "Maximum",  and  "Minimum" 
are  used  in  this  way.  With  most  items  of  stock,  experience  has 
shown  what  is  the  average  consumption  per  week  or  per  month,  and 
also  what  length  of  time  is  required  to  replenish  stock.  Therefore, 
the  minimum  or  smallest  quantity  which  should  ever  be  on  hand 
is  that  quantity  which  would  be  used  during  the  period  required  to 
replenish  the  stock.  Usually  a  little  leeway  is  allowed  to  provide 
for  contingencies.  Therefore,  we  will  assume  that  it  takes  two 
weeks  to  replace  an  item  of  stock  and  that  the  average  consumption 
of  that  item  per  week  is  ten  dozen.  Allowing  for  contingencies, 
a  fair  minimum  would  be  25  dozen,  or  a  two  weeks  standard  supply 
with  a  contingency  supply  of  five  dozen  additional. 

Experience  has  also  shown  business  concerns  that  their  stock 
can  be  economically  maintained  by  having  a  thirty  days  supply  of 
certain  items,  a  sixty  days  supply  of  others,  etc.  Knowing  the 
average  consumption,  they  arrive  in  this  manner  at  a  maximum, 
which  is  placed  in  the  proper  column. 

Provided  a  change  in  output  occurs  which  necessitates  a  change 
in  the  maximum  or  minimum  quantity,  another  entry  is  made  show- 
ing the  date  on  which  the  change  was  made  with  the  amount  of  stock 
to  be  carried. 

If  the  stock  record  is  being  newly  installed,  the  first  thing  nec- 
essary is  to  take  a  complete  inventory.  Then  a  card  is  made  out 
for  each  item  of  stock  and  a  debit  entry  is  made  in  the  "received" 
column  from  the  inventory  sheet.  From  that  point,  the  entries  can 
be  best  explained  by  following  the  card  shown  in  Figure  72.  On  June 
1st,  the  purchasing  agent  issued  order  No.  1620,  calling  for  ten 
dozen  3"  No.  00  Square  Slim  Files.  The  original  order  he  sent  to 
the  firm  from  which  the  goods  were  to  be  purchased,  a  duplicate  was 
sent  to  the  receiving  clerk  to  notify  him  that  the  goods  were  coming 
in,  and  another  copy  went  to  the  stock  clerk  in  order  that  he  might 
show  the  "material  ordered"  on  his  records.  From  this  we  have 
the  first  entry  in  the  column  "Ordered".  On  June  6th,  the  receiv- 
ing clerk  gets  a  shipment  of  ten  dozen  files  on  order  No.  1620.  He 


98 


MODERN  FILING 


sends  the  Purchasing  Department  notice  of  the  receipt  of  the  goods 
and  also  sends  a  notice  to  the  stock  room,  with  the  goods.  From 
this  is  obtained  the  entry  in  the  column  " Received". 


Reg.  No.J 

SENECA  MOTOR  CAR  CO.  INC 

<J     Q-t  1                              STOCK  REQUISITION                                                 lS"l-$5~ 

K\A^(X>lxV\JUwJ^        OVvXi^                      Date              b  (   O  1  '  t 

QUANTITV 

DESCBIPTIOH 

AMOUNT 

^Lf 

^   "           *  00       ScLAJUXX^   S^AyWv'MjLft 

^^ 

-ISS- 

^TS>JVj(yuO-vw  —  -3lr-rUvv^A* 

FIG.  73.     Requisition  for  material  from  stock  room. 

A  workman  in  the  factory  now  requires  two  dozen  of  these  files; 
and  so  makes  out  requisition  No.  12931,  (Figure  73),  has  it  signed  by 
his  foreman,  and  presents  it  to  the  stock  room  for  filling.  The  goods 
are  delivered  to  him  and  the  requisition  turned  over  to  the  stock 
clerk  for  entry  on  his  stock  record. 

This  stock  record  is  also  a  perpetual  inventory,  which  means 
that  the  exact  amount  of  the  stock  on  hand  is  shown  at  all  times. 
When  this  balance  is  less  than  the  minimum  amount  of  stock  to  be 
carried,  a  notice  is  sent  to  the  Purchasing  Department  so  that  more 
stock  may  be  ordered.  If  the  quantity  in  the  "Balance"  column  is 
more  than  the  maximum  to  be  carried,  the  superintendent  is  notified 
in  order  that  he  may  reduce  the  stock  by  manufacturing  or  take  such 
other  steps  as  the  situation  requires. 

This  record  also  shows  that  another  order  has  been  placed  for 
twenty  dozen,  but  that  nothing  on  this  order  has  as  yet  been  received. 

This  is  a  very  complete  form  of  card  record  and  is  preferable  to 
the  one  shown  in  Figure  74  in  mcst  instances,  because  it  provides 
ample  space  for  deliveries,  while  in  the  latter  Figure,  equal  space  is 


STOCK  RECORD  KE%PtN&*'>'</.':^'''<  <\  99 


FIG.  74.     Another  form  of  stock  record  card.    Note  indexing  arrangement. 

allotted  for  "material  received"  and  "material  delivered",  which  is 
not  the  usual  proportion.  Stock  records  may  vary  somewhat,  but 
both  of  these  are  good  general  illustrations. 


Equipment   Used 

Stock  record  cards  are  filed  in  card  cabinets  or  in  a  card  record 
desk  similar  to  that  shown  in  Figure  70.  The  size  most  widely  used 
is  8x5.  In  illustrations  72  and  74,  we  are  shown  a  method  of  index- 
ing the  cards  by  subject.  For  a  small  stock  room,  a  set  of  alphabet- 
ical guides  would  probably  be  sufficient  for  separating  the  cards  ac- 
cording to  name  of  article.  Another  good  arrangement  of  guides 
is  that  shown  in  Figure  36  in  the  chapter  on  "Subject  Filing". 


100  MODERN  FILING 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  XV 
Stock  Record  Keeping 

1 — What  is  a  record  of  stock? 

2 — Name  four   difficulties   that  can  be   overcome  by  keeping  an 
accurate  record  of  stock. 

3 — How  many  different  kinds  of  stock  are  usually  listed  on  a  card? 

4 — In  Figure  72,  what  are  the  tabs  on  the  cards  for? 

5 — What  is  "maximum"  and  "minimum"  stock? 

6 — What  is  a  requisition? 

7 — What  does  the  stock  record  clerk  use  it  for? 

8 — Can  a  stock  record  be  indexed  geographically  ? 

9 — Why  is  a  larger  space  provided  for  deliveries  than  for  receipts  ? 

10 — Suppose  you  were  a  stock  clerk  and  had  a  system  similar  to  that 
illustrated  in  Figure  72.  What  entries  would  you  make  if  you 
received  a  requisition  from  a  workman  for  4  3"  No.  00  Square 
Slim  Files? 


ADVERTISEMENTS— see  next  pages 


8* 


Complete  new  Catalogs  full  of  information 
about  Filing  Devices  and  Office  Systems 

THESE  two  new  catalogs  illustrate  and  describe  in 
minute  detail  the  complete  line  of  "Y  and  E"  Fil- 
ing Devices  and  Office  Systems.  Catalog  No.  2816  shows  wood 
and  steel  filing  devices,  and  No.  3016,  Office  Filing  Systems  and 
Supplies.  Both  are  interesting  and  highly  instructive  to  students  of 
filing.  Send  for  copies  today — free. 

Main  Factories  and  Executive  Offices 
ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 

Branch  Offices  in  all  important  cities 

Makers  of  "  Y  and  E"  Filing  Devices 
and  Office  Systems 


ADVERTISEMENTS 


" 


Photo  showing  method  of  teaching  filing  systems  to  Commercial  School  Stu- 
dents. This  "Y  and  E"  Outfit  won  the  gold  medal  awarded  by  the  Panama-Pacific 
Exposition. 

Educational  Outfits  for  use  with 
Modern  Filing"  textbook 

WE  offer  three  complete  "Educational"  Outfits, 
for  use  in  business  schools  and  the  commercial 
departments  of  public  schools  for  class  room  work  in 
these  schools.     They  give  the  class  a  practical  exper- 
ience with  the  office  systems  commonly  used. 

The  first  outfit  is  as  follows:  One  of  the  three  upper  drawers  is  equipped  for 
loose  sheet  filing,  and  another  for  Shannon  filing,  two  systems  with  which  every 
student  should  be  familiarized.  The  third  drawer  contains  two  compartments  for 
5x3  cards.  Here  are  special  printed  form  cards  for  record  of  quotations  given  and 
quotations  received,  a  mail-order  follow-up  record,  a  tickler  system,  and  an  alpha- 
betical i:idex  to  the  numerical  vertical  file.  The  two  large  lower  drawers  are  for 
vertical  filing.  In  the  first  drawer  is  exemplified  the  well-known  "Y  and  E"  Direct 
Name  System,  the  standard  for  alphabetical  correspondence  filing.  Here  also  is  a 
vertical  follow-up  system.  The  second  vertical  drawer  illustrates  three  kinds  of 
indexing  —  geographical,  numerical,  and  subject.  A  small  business  school  will  find 
this  outfit  sufficient  for  its  needs. 

The  second  outfit  is  a  larger  and  more  complete  outfit  than  the  first.  Additional 
"half"  sections  at  the  top  of  the  cabinet  provide  drawers  for  filing  documents,  checks 
and  notes  as  illustrated  on  the  opposite  page.  .These  are  systems  found  in  nearly 
all  offices.  Below  are  three  drawers,  two  for  Shannon  and  one  for  loose  sheet 
filing.  The  three  large  vertical  drawers  provide  for  instruction  i"  the  Direct  Name 
System,  follow-up,  geographical,  numerical  and  subject  filing.  The  four  card  drawers 
provide  for  quotations  received  and  given,  follow-up,  mail-order  and  index  to  vertical 
file.  This  outfit  provides  greater  capacity  and  better  opportunities  for  actual  work 
and  demonstration  than  does  Outfit  No.  i.  It  is  the  most  popular  outfit. 

Outfit  No.  3  is  an  outfit  DeLuxe  and  contains  indexes  and  supplies  of  the  first 
quality  exclusively.  All  of  the  card  guides  are  celluloided  and  the  vertical  guides  are 
made  of  pressboard  to  withstand  years  of  service.  In  addition  to  the  systems  enu- 
merated in  Outfit  No.  2,  Outfit  No.  3  provides  for  instruction  in  stock  records,  in 
the  Safeguard  alphabetical  card  ledger,  and  the  numerical  card  ledger.  Further- 
more a  cap  size  drawer  is  provided  for  attorneys'  legal  papers,  both  office  business 
and  cases.  Additional  card  records  comprise  an  insuraite  expiration  system  and  a 
real  estate  record.  This  outfit  is  the  last  word  in  filing  instruction,  in  so  far  as 
standard  methods  are  concerned.  It  can  be  enlarged,  however,  by  the  addition  of 
systems  for  special  purposes. 


ADVERTISEMENTS 


Educational  Outfits 


Illustration  shows  "Y  and  E"  Educational  Outfits — No.   3,  No.    i,  No.   2. 
See  pre  ceding  page. 

These  outfits  are  used  in  the  majority  of  the  best 
known  schools  of  the  United  States.  We  shall  gladly 
send  you  list  of  users  in  your  locality,  so  that  you  can 
write  them  and  learn  for  yourself  what  a  practical 
benefit  they  are  in  class  room  work. 

Remember  that  "Modern  Filing — A  Textbook  on 
Office  System"  is  published  for  use  only  in  schools 
where  "Y  and  E"  Educational  Outfits  are  used.  We 
offer  free,  three  booklets  that  have  heretofore  been 
used  in  schools  as  textbooks — "Vertical  Filing  Down- 
to-date",  "Where's  that  Catalog?"  and  "Correct 
Methods  of  Transferring." 

Ask  us  for  copies  of  these.     Write  us  also  for  complete  catalogs  of  our 
4000  quality-first  Filing  Devices  and  Office  Systems. 


\AWMAN  AND  FREE  MFG. (p. 

504  St.  Paul  Street,  Rochester,  New  York 

Branch  Offices  :      Boston,  Springfield,  Mass.,  New  York,  Albany,  Newark,  Philadelphia,  Washington, 
Pittsburgh,  Buffalo,  Cleveland,  Chicago,  Kansas  City,  Los  Angeles,  San  Francisco,  Oakland. 
In  Canada  :     The  Office  Specialty  Mfg.  Co.,  Ltd.,  Newmarket,  Ontario. 

JUOO  Agents  and  Dealers  in  more  than  1200  other  cities 

Makers  of  "Y  and  E"  Filing  "Devices  and  Office  Systems 


TL 


3597i4 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


I 


I  ill 


